


Peter Benjamin Parker-Stark

by Ironteddybear



Category: Antman - Fandom, Avengers, Black Panther - Fandom, Captain America, Doctor Strange - Fandom, Guardians of the Galaxy - Fandom, Hulk - Fandom, Iron Man - Fandom, Marvel, Spiderman: Homecoming
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Multi, Soft Peter, Toddler! Peter, cute moments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-04-21 16:46:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 29
Words: 21,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14289138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ironteddybear/pseuds/Ironteddybear
Summary: Posted on Wattpad under same name on the pickledmonsterx account, so you don't think it's stolen.(AU because I know people are going to hate me for all the inaccuracies but like I took a lot of creative liberty so)After finding out 5 year old Peter Parker has been alone and molested most of his life, Tony Stark takes it upon himself to be the best parent the kid has ever had. Luckily there's no competition because parenting is harder than it looks.Featuring 5 year old Peter Parker, Dad Tony Stark, Mom Pepper Potts, Uncle Happy Hogan, Uncle Steve Rogers, Uncle Bruce Banner, Uncle Clint Barton, Uncle Thor, Aunt Natasha Romanoff and occasionally Uncle T'Challa, Uncle Stephen Strange, Uncle Scott Lang, Uncle Peter Quill, Uncle Drax, Aunt Gamora and buddies Groot and Rocket Raccoon.





	1. Chapter 1

Tony hadn't originally planned on visiting one of the foster homes he'd donated to, but Pepper had insisted. 'You can't let your fans down, Tony.'  
Did he even have fans?

He fixed his suit. In all honesty, he didn't hate children, they were pretty cute. He'd just rather have his own kid and not be surrounded by them. One was surely enough.

As the car pulled up outside of the home, Tony took it in. They were in a suburb on the outskirts of the city. The house had a friendly exterior, red brick home with a fence painted black and children's toys littered the yard, ranging from basketballs and frisbees to teddy bears and yoyos. As he climbed out of the car, Happy hurried to follow.

"Mr. Stark, welcome!" A woman with a cheery smile opened the door and Tony was startled. Of course he had known he was expected, but he hadn't expected the quick greeting.  
He composed himself and smiled.

"Hello, Miss....?" Pepper had reminded him of her name about 50 times in the past few days and yet he's still forgotten.

"Smith. Miss Smith. All of the children are excited to meet you and very grateful for your donation." Her smile seemed to keep getting bigger and it made Tony uncomfortable.

"Where are they?" He asked, eyes scanning the doorway. "Can I see them?"  
She chuckled and nodded. "They're upstairs. Follow me, Mr. Stark."

As he stepped into the house it became clear that his donation had been needed. While the house looked fine on the outside, the inside was anything but. Paint was peeling on almost every wall that they walked by and there weren't any children's toys anywhere. Most of the furniture was scratched, ripped or plain ugly and the place smelt like rotten eggs. Did children really live here?

As they approached the staircase, in places broken or uneven, he turned to Miss Smith.

"How many children live here?" He asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. For some reason, this whole situation was putting him off. He was almost ready to call J.A.R.V.IS. and have his suit sent to him. Happy sneezed as he passed a dusty cabinet.

"7. 1 baby; Ashley, 2 teenagers; Finn and Ariana, 3 children between the ages of 10 and 12; Jason, Alexander and Aaron.. and a 5 year old; Peter." She replied as she began to ascend the stairs. Tony tried to imagine this place filled to the brim with kids. He couldn't.

"This place could really use that million." Happy snorted quietly as they walked a foot behind Miss Smith. Tony chuckled dryly. He had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was wrong but he couldn't put his finger on it. They reached the top of the stairs.

The first room held the Jason, Alexander and Aaron and they were ecstatic when they saw that THE Tony Stark had come to visit them. Tony signed everything they asked him to and answered as many questions as possible, looking around the empty room. The only piece of furniture in the room were three beds pushed against the walls. The boys were skinny, but no real red alarms stood out to Tony.

In the next room, Ariana ignored Tony and Ashley was sleeping in the crib. Again the only pieces of furniture were the beds. When they left that room, Miss Smith smiled and began to lead him back the way they came. His stomach twisted.

"Weren't there two more kids? .... Peter and... Finn?" His memory wasn't great but he was pretty sure he'd heard there were two more. He turned to the last room besides Miss Smiths on the floor.  
Her smile faltered. Happy and Tony shared a look as he turned to the door, opening it slowly.  
How he wished he'd just turned and ran before he opened the door. Peter was pinned below Finn and Tony realized with a jolt why she hadn't wanted him to see it. He yanked the male off the small boy, eyes burning as he turned to her.

"Does this happen a lot? Did you know your oldest was molesting him?" He demanded, already knowing the answer as he shook the teenager. The small boy whimpered. Happy was already typing frantically on his phone, probably messaging Pepper to call the police.  
He could feel his vision turning red slightly but he pushed it down. "Happy, escort Miss Smith and this pathetic waste of space outside to wait for the police." He saw his friend about to protest but Tony held his hand, pointing slightly to the small boy shaking on the bed. Happy quietly grabbed the teen from Tony and led the woman out of the room.

Once the door shut behind Happy, Tony turned to the boy, kneeling in front of the bed. Peter's eyes watched him warily, not fully trusting the man in front of him, after all, it seemed men only wanted him alone to do stuff that hurt. Peter didn't like to be hurt.

"My names Tony Stark. I'm not going to hurt you, kid." He promised but Peter didn't back down. That's what the guy before him had said and Peter didn't want to relive that. He whined and moved away. Tony lifted his hands in mock surrender.

"I'm not going to touch you. I promise. No one should touch you. Can I ask you what that was?" He asked gently. Peter shrugged, staring at his shoes. He didn't want to tell Tony. Grown ups didn't care.  
The older male sighed. "Okay. Fine. You don't have to say anything Peter, but please let me take you out of here and get you somewhere safe. I'll even take you for ice cream." He tried to get the kid to agree and when he said ice cream, he knew he'd hit the jackpot.

"Ice cream?" Peter's voice shook but it sounded hopeful. His eyes had lifted from their stare at his shoes. "Chocolate ice cream?" He was still skeptical, but Tony's offer was too good to be true. Exactly what he was craving.

"Sure. All you gotta do is go downstairs and see the nice doctors. Take a ride in the ambulance won't that be fun? If you're very good at the hospital then I'll take you for ice cream." He promised, hoping the boy would agree. Peter thought about it. That didn't sound too hard.

"Is the hothpital scary?" He asked, nervously. Tony hesitated.

"It can be... But I'll be there so it doesn't have to be." He smiled gently at Peter and Peter smiled back. His little hand hesitantly reached for Tony's.  
"Ice cream." He nodded and Tony smiled.  
Oh Lord, this child would be the death of him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's in the hospital and Tony's visiting.

"Give me everything you have on a Peter Parker." Tony turned to his assistant, Pepper Potts as they stood outside the hospital room, waiting for the doctor to finish running tests.

"He's, uh, 5 years old. Never been to a daycare. He's been jumping from foster home to foster home ever since he was a year old. His parents were murdered, but it was never figured out who did it. The case went cold... He has an aunt and uncle in the city but they refused to take him, they were expecting a baby at the time and didn't have the financial means to take on Peter as well." She read off on her tablet.

Tony's eyes scanned the bright white walls. So all Peter had ever known was the life he was living. He was about to ask Pepper to pull up previous medical records, when the doctor stepped out.

"Are you here for Peter Parker?" The doctor asked looking up from his sheet. He could feel Pepper's eyes burning into him as he responded.  
"Yeah. How is he? He's not bad is he?" He demanded as he leapt to his feet. The doctor sighed.

"Luckily, he doesn't have much physical damage at all. Everything is perfectly intact. He hit his head on something a few months ago and he had a mild concussion, but it appears that's healing nicely. As for his psychological damage, it's hard to say. He's skittish, quiet.. He doesn't like when males touch him, so I had a nurse do the evaluations. He refused to answer any of my questions and when I asked him why he began to cry... His social worker will be here tomorrow and they're going to find him a new home." As the doctor concluded all his findings, Tony wanted to punch the wall.

"Can I see him?" He asked and the doctor shrugged.   
"I guess, I doubt he'll respond but you can check on him if you feel so inclined. I'll be down at the nurses station if you need me." He smiled softly, turning to walk down the hallway.  
Tony wasted no time in making his way into the room, Pepper hurrying to follow.

Peters head raised as he heard footsteps coming back into his room. His eyes lit up when he saw it wasn't in fact the doctor, but Tony. "Mr. Stark!" He smiled shyly, crawling over to greet the man.

"Hey, kiddo. You're looking better.. They give you a shower?" He asked, sitting at the end of the bed to give Peter some space. The child shrugged, fidgeting slightly.

"Ice cream?" He asked, hopefully and Tony sighed. This was the part he knew from the beginning he'd hate. Telling Peter what was going to happen to him.

"Yeah, buddy. I'm going to buy you ice cream and then you're really nice social worker... She's the lady who makes sure you're safe... Uh, she's going to take you to your new family." He shifted uncomfortably.

Peter felt his stomach drop. He knew the nice man wouldn't want him, he was dumb to think he'd get that lucky.  They were going to send him far away, probably to an even worse home, the houses always got worse. He looked down at his feet, not being able to stop the tear that fell from his eye. He'd just met the man, of course he wouldn't want him.

Tony watched the boy hang his head in defeat. His head turned to look at Pepper, who was clearly trying her best to pretend like she wasn't paying attention to the conversation.   
"Are you alright, Peter?" He reached gently out for the boy but he jerked away.

"Don't touch!" He whined, rubbing at his eyes. "Don't want new family. Please don't make me, Mr. Stark. I'll do anything.... Be good." His teary eyes rose to meet Tony's.

Fuck. How could Tony say no to that? He was obviously terrified and after what he'd seen, Tony couldn't blame him. The only problem was Tony couldn't raise a kid. He could barely care for himself, let alone another human being with such fragile needs. 

"Peter a family out there is going to love you and-"  
"No! No!" The young boy curled in on himself, closing his eyes tightly. 

"Look what you did, Tony. He's having a panic attack now." Pepper snapped, gesturing to the scared boy. Tony sighed.

"How long does it take to get approval for adoption, Pepper? Can we speed the process up with money?"   
Pepper stared at him in disbelief, not expecting that response.  
"I-I don't know...." She began and Tony cut her off.  
"Figure it out. I want it mostly done before the social worker gets here tomorrow. Peter's staying at the Avengers Headquarters tonight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to upload this slower than on my Wattpad to make sure I correct the mistakes I made over there while transferring it here.   
> Hopefully you're all enjoying it, because I love writing little Peter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter finally gets that ice cream he deserves and steals Tony's heart with kindness.

After desperately trying to calm Peter down for hours, Tony decided the only way the kid was going to listen to him was if he took him out for ice cream.

"Hey, Peter. You want your ice cream now? You've been really good and you deserve a treat." He offered. Peter's head poked up from where he'd been crying into his knees. He hiccuped.  
"I- Ice cream?" He managed to get out softly, face red from crying.

"Yeah. Happy managed to grab me some clothing from your home. Pepper is going to help you get dressed while I sign you out of the hospital, okay?" He gestured to the red head beside him and Peter scrutinized her. Finally, he nodded and reached for the plastic bag with his clothing in her arms.  
"I'll be back soon." Tony smiled, standing and making his way to the door. Peter didn't even acknowledge his exit, too focused on the clothing.

As he walked down the white halls of the hospital, his brain tried to make sense of what all had happened that day. What if Tony had decided he never wanted to go after all or he'd forgotten there were two more kids... Peter would still be in danger.  
Part of him wished he'd come a lot sooner.

He was finishing up at the reception desk when Pepper and Peter emerged from the elevator. His smile was back, brighter than ever and he was pointing everything out to Pepper, who was obviously trying her best to match his overenthusiastic behaviour.

"Stark!" The boy waved, letting go of her hand and racing across the hallway to him. Tony caught him as he came closer, picking him up and examining his choice of clothing. A blue and red onesie with a spider on the front.

"This my superhero suit. I'm a superhero, just like Iron Man." His blue eyes were lit with excitement when he noticed Tony examining the "suit". "I'm Spiderman." He giggled.

He hadn't known Peter was an Iron Man fan and he doubted Peter even realized that's who was currently holding him tightly to his chest.  
"Come on buddy. We've got ice cream and a special surprise waiting for you." He promised and Peter bounced happily in his arms, waving at Pepper and shouting that he was so tall now.

When they pulled up at the ice cream parlour, Happy turned to Tony with a concerned look.  
"Should I come with you, just in case a mob swarms... Peter won't like that very much." Both of their eyes fell on the boy who was gazing out the window happily, oblivious to their conversation.

"I think I can handle it. I've got the glasses..." He hoped that'd be enough to conceal his identity long enough for Peter to get some ice cream.  
They climbed out of the car, Peter explaining to Tony why Iron Man was better than any superhero, little hands gripping onto his shoulders as he tried to convince the older male. Although Tony didn't need much convincing.

He was surprised they were able to get in, order and grab their ice cream before anyone noticed. But as they left the parlour, someone grabbed onto Tony.  
"Mr. Stark!" The paparazzi's excited voices cut over Peter's ramblings. Immediately he went to pull Peter closer as he'd had to put him down in order for them to walk with their ice creams, but he found only air. He looked around frantically for the boy, shoving reporters angrily. Where could he have gone?  
"Stark!" A familiar, quiet voice called. Peter was amongst a bunch of reporters who were yelling in his face and grabbing him for pictures at all different angles.  
"Peter!" He rushed forward scooping up the boy. Somewhere on one of the outdoor tables he'd abandoned his ice cream, but Peter was still clutching his tightly,news darting everywhere nervously.

They made it back to the car quickly, Happy cursing in the front seat and Pepper shaking her head.  
"They have no respect. They're like a bunch of animals." She snorted in distaste as Tony buckled Peter in, ice cream and all.  
"Let's just go." He snapped, climbing in on the other side. Peter was silent until they pulled out of the parking lot.

"We need to go back, Mr. Stark." He gasped suddenly. The man turned to him, eyebrows raised.  
"Why's that Peter?" He gently coaxed him and Peter frantically waved his arms.  
"You left your ice cream! We're supposed to eat together!" His blue eyes were wide, looking like they might burst into tears at any second. Tony smiled softly.  
"That's okay, Peter. I wasn't very hungry anyway... It's probably melted by now." He explained, but Peter wasn't having it.  
The 5 year old thrust his spoon into Tony's hand, eyes bright. "Share." He insisted.

"Peter..." He tried to hand the spoon back.  
"Just one bite?" He begged, holding the cup up with those bright blue eyes. Tony sighed.  
"Alright one. Then you have to eat the rest." He pointed the spoon accusingly and Peter giggled, nodding.  
He scooped up a tiny bit and ate it, handing the spoon back to Peter who, now satisfied that he'd done his part in sharing, devoured the rest.  
He was just finishing as they pulled up to the Avengers Compound and his eyes went wide as he realized where they were.

"Avengers home! Iron Man's home!" He squealed excitedly, wriggling under his seat belt.  
"You want to go see Iron Man?" Pepper asked, clearly teasing since he'd already met Iron Man. But Peter, not understanding the joke, nodded excitedly.  
"Come on then, let's go see Iron Man." Tony laughed as he unbuckled an excited Peter.  
This could only end in disaster, but he loved seeing Peter's smile so he wouldn't have it any other way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has a nightmare and seeks comfort from Tony.

Stepping into the room part of the compound Tony had transformed for his own personal use, the group relaxed considerably. Here there was no paparazzi or considerable dangers. Just the three adults and Peter, who's eyes excitedly scanned the place.

"Here, let me take that and Tony will show you around." Pepper leaned down to take the empty ice cream cup from Peter who nodded, handing it over without complaint and following Tony.

"I know what you want to see, kid. So I'm going to show you that first because I know children have short attention spans." He teased. Peter didn't know what that meant but he nodded in agreement anyway, following him to where Tony kept his suit. The little boy excitedly raced forward.

"Iron Man!" His eyes were wide, taking in as much of it as he could. Tony chuckled.

"I am Iron Man, kid." He explained and Peter placed his hands on the cool metal, yes shining.  
"You wear suit." He told Tony, turning to clarify this fact and the older male nodded.

"Yup. Pretty cool right? Saving the world and everything." He bent over to pick Peter up, letting the boy admire his suit some more.

"Saving me too." The boy added, smiling up at him. How did Tony get himself into these situations?  
"Yes, saving you too. Come on, I gotta show you the rest of the place so you don't get lost. Although I'm sure Friday wouldn't mind helping you find your way..." They left the room but Peter continued to stare over his shoulder at the suit, eyes wide and admiring.

The bed was too big. At first, Peter had been so tired he hadn't noticed the size of the bed. But he'd had a bad dream and now it was too big for his comfort. Finn or anyone else who wanted him could jump out and grab him... His eyes scanned the dark room nervously, not liking being alone. But he had another problem as well.

He didn't want to wake Tony. The man had been so nice to him already and he knew that people didn't like to be woken up once they were sleeping. What if Tony got cranky and hit him because he wanted to sleep? What if he didn't even wake up at all?  
Peter whined softly, pulling the blankets over his head and closing his eyes tightly. He could survive one night in the big scary room, couldn't he?

No. He couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes the face of the teenager haunted him, he sat up abruptly, tears falling down his round cheeks.  
He wanted Tony. He just wanted someone to tell him he'd be okay. Slowly, he slid himself from the bed and quietly padded across the room to the door. He knew where the man slept as he'd pointed out on the tour earlier. He reached up for the handle of the man's door, turning it carefully and slipping in.

Tony was asleep, laying on his side facing the door and on his other side was Pepper, her arm wrapped gently around him. Peter smiled to himself and approached quietly, little hands reaching up already. He tried to pull himself onto the bed, maybe he could curl up with them and they wouldn't even notice he was there until morning. That way he wouldn't have to wake anyone up.  
But the covers were slippery and the poor boy wasn't strong enough to pull himself up. He slipped and fell right on his butt, tears once again falling from his blue orbs. This time they were tears of frustration and the sound of his cries were louder than he thought.  
Tony's eyes blinked open, wondering what that sound was. Pepper sat up beside him, clearly confused as well. He called for the lights to turn on, a sinking feeling in his gut.

When the darkness disappeared, there sat Peter crying beside the bed on the floor. Tony relaxed considerably, untangling himself from the bed to pick him up. Immediately, the crying stopped and Peter gripped onto his pj shirt tightly.

"What're you doing up, Peter. It's late..." He sat on the bed, placing the boy in his lap and Peter seemed to turn slightly red.  
"I had a bad dream and I was scared... I was going to climb the bed and cuddle without waking you up but I fell and hurt my butt." He whined, eyes still wet with tears. "I'm sorry for waking you. I'll go back to bed."

Tony brushed part of Peter's hair out of his face.  
"No, no. You're scared, Peter. I understand. I have nightmares... Bad dreams a lot too. It's better to be around someone to make it less scary isn't it?" He asked and Peter nodded enthusiastically.  
"Come here... We've got a big bed. Pepper and I don't mind sharing." He turned slightly placing Peter down. Pepper smiled softly watching Tony readjust himself under the sheets and Peter curl slightly into him, eyes drooping as the lights shut down once more.

There were a few moments of silence and then the sounds of Peter's shallow breathing.  
"Tony, you know he's going to be a lot harder to take care of them you realize. He's never had any of this." She whispered softly and she got a sigh in response.  
"What am I supposed to do, leave him to the care of the foster system? It's failed him so far. Who knows what all has been done to him. We're really his only hope. It wouldn't be fair for me to bring him here, give him a taste of a regular, good life and then toss him out like he's nothing. He needs us, Pepper." He responded softly.  
She sighed. "I know... I just... It's a big commitment. You can't fool around with it. You have to be someone he can look up to. He loves you so much already... Don't let him down."  
"I won't." He promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted two chapters in celebration for the weekend. Happy Friday everybody!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The quality partly Avengers fluff we all needed (more in the next chapter)

"Are you sure you can't stay home and babysit... Pepper, please, it's an hour long, 2 tops." Tony pleaded, following his girlfriend around the room. Peter sat watching the two adults curiously.

"Tony, you asked me to get the adoption papers, so that's what I'm doing. Just take Peter with you, he'll love it. It's not like you have a mission anyway, it's just your gathering to catch up right? It won't kill you to have him there." She shot back, ruffling Peter's hair as she passed to head to the elevator.

Tony sighed in frustration as the elevator closed, leaving him alone with the 5 year old.   
"Fine. The meeting starts in half an hour... You want to wear your Spiderman suit again, make things easier for me?" He asked, looking down at the kid. Peter nodded happily, watching Tony rush off to get it.

Once Peter was dressed, Tony realized they hadn't had time for breakfast still needed to feed Peter. Thankfully, he'd had Happy run a few early morning errands for him and they had cereal bars. He'd also grabbed a bunch of action figures (kids like those right?) which were now shoved into a little bag to take with them, just in case Peter got bored during the meeting. They wouldn't exactly be talking about anything a kid would find exciting.  
"Here. Eat." Tony handed the bar to Peter, who happily obliged as he was lifted.

"We're headed to the top floor, I've got you some toys in case you're bored..." He told the boy. Peter only half understood what Tony had said but he was excited for the toys. He loved toys.

The elevator arrived on the floor and Tony hurried to the meeting room, checking his watch. He was late already. 10 minutes to be exact. Oh how Steve was going to rub that in.

"Sorry, I'm late." He huffed, walking into the room. The group looked up, ready to scold and tease him for his tardiness, even if he was usually late so they all expected it by now.  Their eyes, however, fell on Peter tucked in Tony's arms.

"Where did the kid come from?" Steve asked, eyebrows raised. Natasha snickered.

"This is Peter. Pepper couldn't watch him, so he's going to have to stay here. Just ignore him. I'll set him up with some toys and we can pretend he's not even here." Tony promised, setting Peter on the floor in the corner and pulling the action figures out of the bag for him.   
The other Avengers exchanged questioning glances as Tony joined them. Most couldn't keep their eyes from straying to Peter as the conversation was once again directed back to crime fighting.

Peter felt like he'd been sitting in this corner for hours. He was hungry and he needed to pee, but Tony was busy. Maybe if he just waited a bit longer... He couldn't hold it. It was too much, he needed a potty quick. He stood padding his way over to the adults, pulling gently on one of the men's pant legs.

Clint felt someone pulling on his pant leg and he looked down, welcoming the distraction from this Stark Vs. Rogers argument that these meetings always seemed to turn into. The kid Tony had brought in smiled shyly up at him.   
"I need to use da potty." He explained, bouncing slightly. Oh boy.

Clint looked up at the others, clearly distracted and shrugged. "Alright, little man. I'll take you to the potty." He reached down for the boys hand and led him out of the room, nobody noticing them leave.

"So your names Peter?" He asked as they walked down the hall.  
"Spiderman." He pointed to the emblem on his chest. "When I grow up, I'm going to be a superhero just like Mr. Stark." He explained and Clint raised his eyebrows.

They reached the bathroom and Clint paused. "You, uh, can use it by yourself right?" He asked uncertainly. Peter nodded, letting go of the man's hand.  
"I'll be quick." The 5 year old promised.

".... You can't just disagree with what I say, simply because you don't like it. Clint-" Tony whipped around to get advice from his friend, but the seat was empty. Everyone else turned to look, confused.

"Peter's gone too. They left a while ago. I noticed but you guys were too busy arguing and you're impossible to stop when you're like that." Bruce said airily. Tony nearly blew the roof off with how loud he yelled out at that.  
"WHAT? PEPPER IS GOING TO KILL ME! I'VE BARELY HAD HIM A DAY!" Tony cursed, racing out of the room.  
He was about to start yelling for Peter, when he saw the bathroom door open. Clint was stood outside and Peter smiled up at him as he came out of the bathroom, taking his hand.  
"Peter!" Tony cried in relief, racing to the boy. Peter looked up.

"Stark!" He smiled, letting the man pull him into a hug.  
Tony looked up at Clint. "Don't do that again. I thought he was dead or kidnapped or hurt..."  
Clint snorted. "Tony. He had to use the bathroom and you were in such a heated debate, if he asked you he probably would've pissed his pants. Sorry for not giving you a heads up." He shrugged.

"Sorry Stark." Peter mumbled awkwardly.  
"I'm sorry too, Peter. Next time, let me know if you're going somewhere with someone. I don't want to lose you." He insisted and Peter nodded.  
"Come on, let's go pack up your toys. The meeting is over anyway." He lifted the boy and Clint raised his eyebrows.

"So Tony Stark has a kid now. Funny, I didn't figure you the family type." He noted as they approached the room.  
Tony shifted Peter in his arms. "Neither did I."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Clint moment. I love Clint and wanted to give him some quality time with Peter. Next chapter is more of the rest. Enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets some quality time with our favourite crime fighting heroes.

"We can't take him to the court house Tony, it's not fair. I'll see if I can find a babysitter.." Pepper sighed as she read over the letter they'd received about the court case.  
"He's a minor. He doesn't need to testify, my testimonial will be good enough." Tony agreed.   
They had already put Peter to sleep, though Tony didn't expect it to last long. It'd been 4 days since they'd had the kid and he always somehow ended up in their bed. Not that either adult minded, having Peter close made Tony more comfortable and Pepper would be lying if she said she didn't think the sight of the two curled up together was adorable.  
"As for babysitter..." Tony came back out from the bathroom eyebrows raised in a silent question. Pepper knew what he was going to ask without him actually vocalizing it.  
"Absolutely not. Tony, he's skittish with us as it is and having all of them around... Thor is so loud, the poor kid would be terrified." She tried to reason with him but Tony wasn't having it.  
"He was perfectly fine at the meeting. He loved Clint! It'll only be for a few hours and it's at night so Peter might even be sleeping for most of it. Come on... We won't even have to pay them!" He shot back, crawling into bed beside her. Pepper sighed.  
Tony was right, the Avengers wouldn't mind babysitting Peter without pay. Most of them had been begging to get to know the young boy better ever since they first saw him and she couldn't argue that Clint and Natasha would likely keep the rest in check.  
"Alright. Only if Peter is comfortable. I'm not leaving him in the care of people he barely knows if he doesn't feel comfortable with it." She sighed. Tony smirked, shutting off he light and pulling her close.  
"Of course. But like I said, I'm sure he'll be fine."  
Pepper hoped so.

"Hey, Peter." Pepper approached the boy the next morning. Their meeting started at 5pm and she'd already called the Avengers to let them know.

Peter looked up from the piece of scrap metal he'd stolen from Tony, smiling brightly.  
She sighed taking it from him and placing it on the counter, Tony really needed to be more careful where he left his spare parts now.  
"Tony and I have to go out later... So Tony's friends from the meeting will be coming over to take care of you. Just for a few hours... Is that okay?" She asked, watching Peter's thoughtful face.  
He opened his mouth then paused, tilting his head. "Cwint." He said matter of factly and Pepper nodded, remembering Tony telling her what had happened earlier in the week.  
"Okay." Peter stood, making his way to the pile of toys sitting in the living room by the TV. Pepper blinked.  
That was easy.

"Okay. Don't feed him too much or he might get sick. He has a fragile stomach." Pepper told the group of superheroes seated on her couch.  
"And if he wants a bed time story, make sure it's the one about the puppies sitting on his bedside table or he might not fall asleep." Tony added, pointing accusingly at Thor. The God shrugged.  
"No loud noises or he might get scared and if he can't sleep, just sit with him until we get back. We'll take him to bed with us when we get home." Pepper reminded them.

Clint laughed. "I'm pretty sure we'll be fine. You two should go or you're going to be late." He pointed to the clock. Tony gasped.  
"Okay. Remember what I said!" He grabbed Peppers hand, ruffling Peter's hair as they turned to leave.  
"Be good Peter." Pepper added, waving as the elevator came. Peter nodded and waved back, watching them climb in and disappear. Once they were gone, Peter turned to the adults.  
The adults stared at the child and he stared back, raising his eyebrows when he realized they weren't moving.

"Dinner." He decided to give them a prompt. The Avengers shared a look.  
"Uh, what does Tony usually make for dinner." Natasha asked, not used to being thrust into such a random position.  
Peter tapped his chin thoughtfully. He could really tell them anything and they'd believe him, but he didn't want to make Pepper or Tony mad.  
"Pizza." He finally agreed with himself. Steve shrugged.  
"That's easy enough, I'll order... Can you guys watch him while I talk to the delivery place?" He asked, standing up. The rest agreed and Peter smiled, making his way across the room to Thor.

"Play." He held up the toys for the man and Thor took one gently, watching Peter's face to see if what he was doing was correct. Peter was satisfied and he moved on to the others handing them toys too, soon he was creating his own game with the toys, the adults following along as best they could.

When Steve returned from the kitchen, he found himself watching what was virtually a sitcom but with toys and, as much as he didn't want to admit it, it was pretty entertaining. The group played like that until the pizza arrived, at which point Bruce cut it and handed it out to everyone, including the 5 year old who eagerly took it.  
"Thank you, Bwuce!" He chirped, happily.

After dinner, the group had to decide who would bathe Peter, as Tony had instructed he needed a bath before bed. Natasha eventually agreed to do it when they tried to get Steve to and Peter had ran from the bathroom naked, giggling as the adults chased him.  
Thor passed Natasha the pyjamas and towel and she slowly dried him, pulling his onesie on.  
"Thank you, Tasha and For." He smiled up at them.

Steve and Clint were put on story duty and they read the book as animatedly as possible, which Peter loved, clapping his little hands until his eyes became droopy and he slowly drifted off.  
"Thank you, Steve and Cwint." He sighed sleepily.  
The Avengers assembled in the living room, Peter asleep. They were all exhausted themselves, taking care of Peter, even as a group of 5, was no walk in the park.   
An hour after Peter had been put to sleep, the boy came padding back down the stairs.   
Bruce looked up from what he was working on at the table, everyone else had fallen asleep on the couch but he'd decided to stay up to let Tony and Pepper know how the night had gone.

"You should be in bed, Spiderman." He noted and Peter shrugged.  
"Bad dream. When is Stark home?" He asked and Bruce shrugged as well, not actually knowing exactly when they were supposed to come home.  
"Want to stay up with me until they do? I'll show you how to tinker with some of this stuff." He looked at the scrap pieces across the table, moving anything with sharp edges out of Peter's grasp and picking the boy up, setting him in his lap.

When Tony and Pepper came back an hour later, exhausted from the court battle but glad from the outcome, little Peter zoomed into their arms, holding up a Rubix cube Bruce had been trying to teach him to solve.  
"How was he?" Pepper asked worriedly but Bruce smiled.  
"Perfect." He winked at Peter who giggled and nodded. Tony raised his eyebrows but didn't push it, if the exhausted Avengers were anything to go by, Peter had had quite the night.  
"Up to bed, Spiderman." He declared and Pepper took Peter from him, walking off up the stairs.  
"You sure he was fine?" Tony asked concerned and Bruce chuckled.  
"Of course. He's an angel. We'd all love to come back another time."  
Tony chuckled. At least he always had the Avengers to count on for babysitting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back. Class has been crazy so uploads were hard but I'm back. A lot of you want older Peter. I want to write a lot more little Peter and maybe time skip once I run out of ideas.  
> As for if I plan on having the real Spiderman... Well the MCU wouldn't be the same without him would it? But we'll see


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets a booboo and Tony helps out

"Stark, what's this?" Peter held a tool up to the man, waiting for his answer. Tony looked up from his workbench to see what the boy had in his hand.

"A screwdriver." He told the boy. Peter smiled, looking down at the tool. 

Of course it was plastic. When Tony realized he'd have to watch the kid more than Pepper because she was always busy, he'd built Peter a smaller, kid size workbench with plastic tools so the kid could play along with what he was doing in a safe way.  
Peter loved to copy the adults in his life, Tony quickly realized.  
He liked to pretend he was building things like Tony, he liked to pretend he was cooking in the kitchen whenever Pepper made breakfast... He even liked to pretend he was shooting arrows like he'd seen Clint do on the television.   
He was still begging Tony and Pepper to let him go to the shooting range with Clint and watch him shoot the arrows. Pepper hated that idea.

Peter returned to looking down at his toys strewn across the small workbench.  
"Stark, why can't I use your tools? I want to make something too." He whined slightly.

Tony didn't even look up from his work this time. "You know it's dangerous, Peter. Sharp edges and all of that. Pepper would kill me if I let you go anywhere near this stuff."  
That excuse didn't cut it for little Peter. When Tony wasn't paying attention, he slipped out of his chair and picked up one of the many scrap pieces strewn across the floor. His fingers slid across the surface, tilting his head slightly.  
He looked around, searching for a spare tool that Tony wasn't using and grinned in triumph when he saw the real screwdriver laying on the floor. He didn't have any screws but maybe he could use it like a hammer.

He brought the stuff back to his workbench and set the scrap down on the workbench, making sure it stayed still.  
"I'm going to be just like Stark..." He whispered softly. He lifted the screwdriver, bringing it down happily onto the piece of metal. The loud sound didn't bother Tony until he heard a scream and crying.  
The billionaire turned to see what all the fuss was about and saw Peter, his finger had a cut on it. He rushed forward, wondering what the smaller boy had done and realizing with a jolt that the side of the scrap metal he'd picked up had blood on it. He'd clearly cut himself on it.

"Peter!" He lifted the crying boy from his workbench, hurrying off to find a first aid kit.  
Peter's stomach hurt. He had made Tony angry and now he was going to be sent away. He'd gotten lucky with the nightmare incident and the bathroom incident, but he knew Tony's patience must be wearing thin and he would get sick of having a kid who didn't listen.

Tony placed Peter on top of the counter reaching for the band aids Pepper had bought for Peter specifically.  
"Children always get into accidents." She'd claimed when Tony had laughed.  
Now he wasn't laughing.

"Here pick a design..." He handed the box to Peter's good hand and began to clean his finger on the opposite hand. Peter wordlessly pulled one from the box and handed it to Tony.  
He wrapped the bandaid around the boys finger. He was about to stand up and hug Peter when he saw the design on Peter's bandaid. Iron Man.

"I'm sorry for causing a problem and not listening, Stark. Please don't send me away." He asked, resting his head on Tony's chest. Tony sighed.

"It's not your fault. I'll clean that stuff up before I take you back down. And nice bandaid." He smiled softly. "Looks like I'll always be around to protect you now." He poked it and Peter giggled.  
At least he had a cool bandaid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of you seem confused so I'm going to clear a few things up.  
> +Peter hasn't been bitten yet  
> +In the future I hope to write Peter as a teenager and he will be bitten  
> +His current "Spiderman" suit is a chat acted he imagined and made up but once it becomes a reality he'll probably feel much different about heroics


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hospital fluff!

Tony had messed up. He'd messed up big time.  
Steve had warned him not to go in, but he hadn't listened. At least he'd saved the kids.

It had been a hostage situation and in order to save the children the man had been holding, Tony had traded himself without the Iron Man suit. Of course his teammates had tried to talk him out of it and if Pepper had been there she would have screamed.  
But all he could imagine was Peter's face and how utterly terrified he would be if he was in this situation.

His injuries could've been much worse, Natasha told him as she rushed beside his gurney, talking quickly. The guy could've ripped him to shreds but all Tony had escaped with was a broken rib, a broken leg and a black eye.   
They set his rib and leg quickly, so now he laid in the hospital room, listening to some sitcom on the TV that the nurses had turned on.

He knew Pepper and Peter would be there soon. Pepper had taken Peter out shopping for a smaller bed, some more clothing that fit and maybe a couple of new toys as well. The adoption would be finalized soon and that meant that Peter would be legally their son. That meant their apartment needed to be made more kid friendly for the little tyke and today was the first step toward that.

As he imagined Peter's excited face, the door opened and footsteps rushed to his bedside. He opened his eyes, meeting Pepper's worried eyes.

"Tony, how could you do that? You risked your life... I... What would I have done if you hadn't survived?" She asked angrily and Tony sighed softly.

"I'm alive, Pepper. I... I couldn't not save those children.... If it had been Peter..." He choked back any tears that threatened to fall and looked around her. "Where is he?" He asked hopefully.

"Outside. I didn't know how bad you were and I didn't want him to see you if you were worse... He brought a bunch of his new stuff.. He's so excited to show you... If you died Tony... He would've been crushed. Please. Don't throw your life away so carelessly again. Peter needs you. I need you." She wrapped her arms gently around Tony who buried his face slightly in her neck.   
"Alright. Can I see the little guy now?" He asked and Pepper chuckled. That was the closest to an apology she was going to get. Instead of responding, she kissed his cheek and walked back poking her head out.

Peter walked in bag in hand, eyes lighting up as he walked quickly over to the bed.  
"Stark!" He grinned, letting Pepper pick him up and place him beside Tony.

"Hey, kid. You have a fun day shopping? What'd you get? Show me... Go on. I know you want to." He encouraged the boy who looked slightly hesitant. Peter began pulling stuff from his bag and explaining why he'd wanted it. Tony listened, his attention undivided.

When they reached the bottom of the bag, Peter pulled out a box of band aids. More Avengers designs being advertised on the box. The boy reached into the box and pulled one out.

"What's that for?" Tony asked curiously, watching him peel the sticky part off.  
"Your eye. The bandaid will make it feel better." He stated matter of factly, showing him the Captain America design. Tony went to protest and ask for a different Avenger but before he could, Peter stuck it to his closed eye.  
"You know what, I think you're right Peter. I think Cap will heal my eye right up. Thank you." He pulled Peter to his good side, the boy resting his head on Tony's shoulder.

The nurse came in an hour later, Tony and Peter were still asleep and Pepper was sitting beside the bed having packed all of Peter's things back into the bag.  
"Visiting hours are over." The nurse told her. Pepper looked up then back to Tony and Peter curled up together, sleeping peacefully.  
"They can't sleep without each other... I don't feel comfortable leaving Tony alone. He has nightmares quite frequently. Do you mind if Peter and I stay the night? It will be less of a hassle for you in the end." Pepper pleaded, not wanting to move either of her boys.  
The nurse sighed but nodded. "I'll let the night nurse know you have special privilege. Have a good night, ma'am."  
Pepper watched her go, turning back to Tony and Peter. Never before had she seen Tony as peaceful as he was in that moment. "Sweet dreams boys."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm uploading slower here then on Wattpad because I upload so quick over there you don't get time to enjoy.  
> If you guys have anymore questions feel free to leave them below and I'll do my best to answer but I'll warn you I don't have an exact blueprint for this story so I'm just kind of letting what happens happen.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets bullied and find a new word to call Tony.

Tony's leg was healing nicely. He'd been let out of the hospital only days earlier with his cast and crutches, Peter bouncing and babbling between him and Pepper.  
Now it was Sunday and Pepper had proposed they take a break from all duties to take Peter for his first family outing to the park.  
Naturally, Tony was concerned about the whole "famous" thing, but slapping his signature shades and hat on him, Pepper insisted they'd all be fine.  
"Peter needs time with children his own age, Tony. He can't just hang out around us and the Avengers all the time." She insisted. Tony didn't see a problem with this, but he gave into his girlfriends pleas.  
Peter hopped down the stairs, Pepper had dressed him earlier that day in clothes for outside (blue overalls and a red t shirt underneath). As he reached the bottom, he held up the Iron Man action figure in his hand.  
"May I bring this to park with me?" He asked shyly, holding it up so Pepper and Tony could get a good look.  
"Of course Peter. Come on, let's get your shoes on..." She immediately bustled into what Tony jokingly called "mom mode" even though she'd only had Peter for less than a month and he wasn't even legally theirs.  
"Tony!" He snapped out of his thoughts and began hobbling to the pair.

Tony set his crutches against the bench and Pepper helped him sit. At first, Peter had not wanted to move from Tony's side, his little face peeping out from behind the man's leg at all the slides and swings.  
Now, he sat in the sand pit playing contentedly with his action figure.

Peter looked up when a shadow passed over him. An older kid was hovering there and he didn't have a very nice look on his face. He glanced over at the adults but they were too preoccupied to notice.  
"Are you a fan of Iron Man?" The kid snatched his action figure, smirking as he began to pull on the toy too harshly for Peter's liking.  
"S-Stop that. Please... Some nice people bought that for me. I think they love me, I think they want to keep me." He tried reaching for the toy, but the boy was definitely taller and stronger than him.  
"You're puny. Nobody wants a kid like you." The kid laughed and just like that ripped the head of the action figure clean off, tossing it to the sand. Peter's eyes widened in horror. Don't cry... Don't cry...

He looked up at the older boy, sticking his arms out he pushed really hard and the boy fell. Peter triumphantly picked the pieces of his action figure up, waddling back to Tony and Pepper, who hadn't noticed yet something was wrong.  
"Did you have fun?" Pepper asked looking down at Peter. The boy wordlessly held his action figure up and told them quietly what happened.  
"You know pushing that boy was wrong, right? So you have to apologize." Pepper told him, gently and Peter nodded.

Once the older boy had been apologized to and his parents bought Peter a new action figure, the small family headed home.  
Tony sat on the bed reading one of the books about spiders Peter loved. He was just finishing when Peter sat up again, pulling nervously at his bedsheets.  
"Stark, do you love me?" He asked curiously. Tony blinked setting the book aside. Why would Peter ask a question like that?  
"Yes... Pepper and I love you very much, kid. Why?" He asked, but Peter ignored him.  
"Do you want me? Are you going to send me back to the other families? Because I don't want to go back. I want to stay here and play with my action figures and read spider books and go to the park and help Bwuce solve... Roo... Rubix cube." He stumbled at the end, face twisting up slightly as if he was about to cry.

"No Peter. We're not sending you back. Relax. Calm down, big guy. You're safe, spiderling." He promised gently. Peter didn't seem satisfied with this answer yet.  
"Don't lie.. Lying is bad." He warned, little finger pointing up at the older male and Tony smiled.  
"Yes it is. That's why I'm not doing it. Come on, get some sleep, spiderling. Or as much as you can before you decide to join me and Pepper." He chuckled, ruffling the boys hair and pulling the blankets back up to Peter's chin. Peter smiled.  
"Wait. Can I have a hug?" He stuck his arms out for Tony and Tony laughed, pulling the boy close.  
Peter fidgeted in his arms. "Can... Can I call you daddy? I mean, I don't have a daddy and I'd like one because they're big, strong and protective but they sit and read books and play too. Like you. I mean, only if you want." He shyly pressed his face to Tony's shoulder.  
Tony felt his heart skip a beat. "Whatever you want, spiderling." He agreed, tucking Peter back in and kissing his forehead gently.  
"Light on or off?" He asked and Peter smiled.  
"On please. I love you, daddy." He smiled hopefully up at Tony, fidgeting with the blankets.  
"I love you too, spiderling."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm seeing Infinity War soon so I wanted to get this up before. Don't spoil it in the comments please and regardless of what does happen in the movie this story will continue on. I love this story and you guys so I could never stop making it!  
> Enjoy this chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quality Pepper and Peter time

It was early in the morning but Pepper had gotten up so she could make something for her boys to eat.  
Her boys.. While Peter still wasn't officially theirs, he and Tony were everything she could've ever asked for in a family.

She was pulling a pan out of one of the cupboards when she heard the familiar sound of padded feet coming down the hallway.  
"Whatcha doing, mum." He wondered curiously. Pepper smiled softly.  
It had taken Peter longer to start calling her mum then it had for him to start referring to Tony as daddy but she cherished it all the same.

"Making breakfast. What are you doing? You're not usually up this early." She noted, turning back to the work at hand. Peter climbed up into a chair, watching her. He shrugged.  
"Just awake." He told her, twiddling his thumbs. Pepper found that hard to believe, while she may not have had Peter that long, she knew the boy always had something in his brain.  
Usually it was silly stuff or imaginary worlds he loved to create, other times it was the nightmares and ghosts of his past. But it was hard to believe Peter had woken up "just because". Even so, she knew better than to press the issue. She'd learnt the hard way with Tony. People talk when they're ready and Peter just wasn't at that point yet.

"Well, you're up early. Why don't you help me make breakfast. I'm sure Tony will love that." She suggested and Peter's eyes lit up.  
"Yeah! I can help!"

There wasn't much a 5 year old could do in a kitchen that wouldn't end in complete disaster, but Pepper somehow made it work. Peter sat perched atop the counter, handing things to the older woman and stirring the pancake mix contentedly.   
"... All done, mum. It's ready for da oven." He caught her attention from where she was cooking the bacon.   
Pepper chuckled. "Good job, buddy. Want to wash your hands and wake up daddy while I finish up?"   
Peter nodded, wiggling himself down from the counter. "Okay. Can daddy also do bath time tonight?" He asked as he walked across the floor.

Pepper had been doing bath time for the time Peter had been here so far. Despite Peter's unrelenting attachment to Tony, he hated being too vulnerable in front of men. The most he would let Tony do is change him with his underwear on.  
"Are you sure?" She asked. She didn't want Peter to feel like he had to let Tony do this but if he felt ready, she couldn't push that progress away. Peter shrugged.  
"Yeah... But you come too." He added quickly and Pepper smiled.   
"Of course. Now go, breakfast is almost done."

Peter had washed his hands and was walking down the hallway to the bedroom when a disheveled Tony Stark stepped out of his room.  
"Morning, daddy." Peter held his arms up. "It's breakfast time. Mum and me made it, I stir pancakes." He explained as Tony picked him up.  
"Good morning, kid. You had me worried when you weren't in bed this morning." He chuckled as they walked to the kitchen.  
Tony Stark could wake up like this every morning and he wouldn't complain. Maybe the domestic life really was starting to grow on him. Either way, he was happier than he'd been in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually forgot to update but I'm here yay!!  
> I did see Infinity War and I think my decision to continue this story no matter what was a good one. We all need this to be honest.  
> Also, guys feel free to leave chapter ideas below because I'm going to run out of ideas soon and I want to keep providing quality dad Tony content.  
> I'm thinking of writing amother story soon but that won't be until this story has gotten much further.  
> Anyway, yeah! Enjoy guys!!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter makes a new friend in the Avengers compound.

Peter spent most of his waking moments while Tony and Pepper were busy hidden in his room. The room was much bigger than the one he'd had before and he didn't have to share it with anyone. His favourite part of the room was also the growing amount of toys Tony insisted he needed to an amused Pepper.   
He loved his room. They'd removed the old sheets and put some child friendly ones. Thor had also helped them move the bigger bed to another room and set up Peter's smaller one. When he was older, the bigger bed would return, but for now this one was just the size he needed.  
He sat cross legged on the bed, picture book open on his lap, focusing really hard. He didn't know how to read, not really, but he wanted to know. Tony and Pepper were still unsure about the form of education they wanted for him and until they figured it out, he'd have to try his best.   
"Fish?" He muttered to himself running his fingers over the picture. "Fff.... F. F makes the ffff sound..." His eyes searched the page.

"Hello." A metallic voice interrupted his silence. Peter, not realizing somebody else was in his room, jumped two feet into the air, eyes wide. The robot man tilted his head to the side and Peter realized his door hadn't even been opened.  
"H-Hello?" The boy moved back towards his pillows, picture book forgotten and abandoned.  
The man seemed to be comprehending the situation he was. This was definitely not a human.  
"Who are you?" Peter asked, still on edge but really curious. The robot responded once more in his metallic tone.  
"My name is Vision. I have been away on a mission and was unaware anyone stayed in this room. What is your name?" He responded, eyes scanning Peter.

"P- Peter. I live here, this is my room. See?" He gestured to the colourful sheets and toys strewn across the room. Vision looked around as if noticing this for the first time.  
"You are a human child. Not a human adult." He stated and Peter nodded.  
"You're a robot... How'd you get in my room?" He blinked, wringing his little hands.  
"Through the walls." He answered as simply as if they'd been discussing the weather. 

"Oh... Well do you like checkers?" Peter slid off his bed to the shelf of games. Tony had taught him to play checkers but he was desperate for an opponent besides his daddy, who beat him almost every time. Vision's eyes followed Peter's walk to the shelf and watched him pull the game off eagerly.

"I have not played." Vision explained and Peter grinned.   
"That's okay. I'll teach you. Daddy taught me...."

"It's been half an hour. How long does it take Vision to check on Peter?" Pepper asked, stepping into the room where Wanda and Tony were talking about the mission. Tony rolled his eyes.  
"You know Peter. He loves to play, he probably roped him into one of his games."   
Even with Tony's dismissive answer, Pepper was still worried. She made her way to Peter's room, opening the door slightly.  
Peter was curled slightly into Vision's side, both of their eyes focused on a book sitting between them.

"How do you spell orange?" Peter asked and Pepper smiled.  
Tony was right. Who could resist that smile?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for giving me more ideas! Please keep sending them. Once Peter has been settled in with Tony and most of the excitement has died down I will be doing age jumps.  
> But not until I've exhausted little Peter. Which will be a whIle haha. I hope.  
> I wanted to upload another chapter quick because I'm writing a new one tomorrow and I felt bad for forgetting to post for like a week so you get an extra yay!  
> Enjoy guys and keep leaving those lovely comments.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Pepper have a much needed discussion and Peter stumbles upon a... Unique item.

".. He wants me there but it's a step in the right direction. We both need to be able to take care of him." Pepper was explaining Peter's request that morning. Tony leaned against the kitchen counter.

"He may say he wants it, but we need to make sure he is ready and not doing because he thinks that's what we want. Speaking of what we want, I got a call from the courthouse today. I think the judge is trying to draw this out as long as possible. Everyone still believes he'd be better off with someone who knows what they're doing. Which I can't deny. But this isn't about me, it's about Peter and where he feels most comfortable..." He tossed the papers onto the counter, clearly frustrated.  
"Well, they're all for his comfort as much as we are Tony. As much as you hate to admit, the law system isn't out to get you. Everyone here is fighting for Peter, the judge just needs to make an informed decision based on all the information both sides are bringing to the table. That's got to account for something right?" Pepper tried her best to comfort Tony, but what she said only seemed to annoy him more.

"The best interest for Peter? You heard the States arguments. They just don't want to admit they failed another kid once again. Since when did Bruce even become an issue, just because he spends time around Peter once in a while does not mean I'm endangering Peter's life. At least I know where he is at all hours of the day and can monitor what he's doing." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Pepper had to admit, Tony did have a point. The foster system had failed Peter and already, Tony was doing a much better job than even she'd expected. In all honesty, she was a little baffled it was taking this long to settle everything down. But in the end she knew no matter what the judge actually felt, it would end in a bribe on Tony's part. It always did in the games Tony played and she didn't expect that he'd mind parting with a few million dollars for Peter's sake.

"Okay.. Well forget about that stuff. We still need to worry about more important things. Education, schedule... He needs structure Tony, every kid does. What about the fact that he's a billionaires kid? Do we keep it hush hush? The court case is already drawing media attention and they don't even know what it's about yet. Tony. Are you even listening?" Pepper snapped, noticing the man had turned around, no longer facing her.

"Yes I'm paying attention. And I'm not the person to answer those questions." He stated simply.  
"Why not?" She asked annoyed. Was he really going to play off Peter like one of his other responsibilities?  
"Because I spend long hours drinking my sorrows away and when I'm not doing that I suffer through nightmares and buy cool things to hide my pain. Is that what you want Peter to look forward to when he becomes an adult?" He asked flatly.   
Pepper was shocked. She wasn't expecting that kind of answer from him. Slowly, she approached him and brought her hand up to stroke his cheek softly.  
"Peter loves you. I love you... You're not a failure, Tony. Anything but. Peter looks up to you and so far you've been an amazing role model. Please promise me you won't say any of that stuff about yourself again. You're very inspiring. And Peter will look forward to being a courageous, smart, handsome, selfless man." She smiled softly and Tony flushed.  
How had he gotten so lucky?

 

Peter had been waiting for half an hour in the bathroom. He sat on the toilet, the lid down over the seat so he wouldn't fall in. Mum had promised she'd be right back and told him to choose a towel from the pile before she'd left. He'd done as he'd been told, he really had. But he'd gotten bored and knew that Mum and Daddy were having grown up talk downstairs.

'I'll just get it started. That way Daddy has less work for the first day of bath time.' Peter thought happily, sliding down from the toilet and plugging the bath like he'd seen been done repeatedly before. His little hands found the tap and he turned curiously, feeling the water.   
'I forgot the soap!' He hurriedly shut the bath off and turned, opening the cupboard under the sink curiously. Peter stared blankly at the bottles, trying to find the one he'd seen be poured into his bath repeatedly but not seeing it. Then his eye caught something else.  
"What..." He pulled the box to him curiously, forgetting the soap and reaching into the box eagerly. This was definitely new for him. Were they candy? Balloons? He brought one of the packaged objects to his face to get a closer look.  
Just then the door opened, but Peter couldn't bring his eyes up from his discovery.

"Peter...?" Pepper's face went slightly white when she saw the water in the tub and she searched the room for the boy, only to find him sitting.... With a box of condoms in his lap.  
"Tony! I thought I asked you to take those to a cupboard Peter couldn't reach!" She gasped. Tony tripped over the pile of Peter's clothes in the centre of the floor, balancing himself with the counter and reaching down for the condoms. 

"I didn't know there was a box in here. I keep them in weird places!" He defended himself as he snatched the box from the curious kid. Pepper sighed.  
"Just bathe him, Tony. Please." She pointed to the water and Tony placed the box on the counter, embarrassedly bringing Peter to the bath. As Pepper popped out to hide the box, Tony sighed.

"You got me in a lot of trouble, kid. I hope you're happy." He shook his head down at Peter, who was splashing happily in the bath. Peter looked up at him.  
"What were those?" He asked innocently.  
"Uh, nothing. They're a surprise safety tool that will help you later in life. Don't worry about it until then. Now, where's that soap...?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop whoop. Another chapter.   
> I'm living for all your comments guys. Please keep leaving them.  
> Enjoy this one!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets exciting news and Peter gets sick.

Tony stepped out of the courthouse, 3 months later, with a skip in his step. Finally, after weeks of court dates and a hefty bribe on his part, Peter was legally a Stark. Pepper had stayed home to watch him as, just as they were both to leave to come sign the papers, the boy himself had developed a nasty cough.  
Pepper hadn't texted him since he'd arrived at the courthouse so he was hoping everything had died down and it wasn't too serious. The drive back to the compound was a long one, or maybe it just felt long because he was so excited to deliver the news to his new family.

Pepper sighed as she rested Peter in the bed. He definitely had a fever. Not wanting to disturb Tony from the court meeting, she called Bruce to come see what was up with Peter's nasty cough. Now the doctor was downstairs, making a chicken noodle soup because she had refused to leave his side.  
"You're really heating up.... Are you sure you're fine Peter?" She asked skeptically.  
Ever since he'd gotten the cough, Peter had insisted he was fine. Now was no different as he nodded his head stubbornly.   
"Want to play..." His voice was scratchy and he let out another bout of coughs afterwards.

"Chicken noodle soup delivery. I read the can, so I'm pretty sure I did it right. It's a lot harder to make then I thought though..." He handed the bowl uncertainly to Pepper, who smiled and reached for the spoon.  
"Thanks, Bruce. We might need to take turns watching him until he's better. I don't know if the others will be willing, but I think taking it in shifts will make it easier for us and Peter." She sighed, scooping some food out for Peter. The boy watched Pepper and Bruce quietly, listening to their conversation.

He didn't see anything wrong with himself at all. He'd always been able to play and move around while sick before. He didn't want to lay in bed and eat the soup all day. His eyes drifted to the model train that he had started building with his daddy the night before. They were supposed to be continuing it tonight but if his mum didn't let him out of bed, the train would never get finished.

"Excuse me, Ms. Potts, Mr. Banner. Mr. Stark is home, shall I send him up?" Friday's voice cut through the conversation. Pepper looked up.

"Yes, thank you, Friday."

When Tony entered the room, he was waving the papers excitedly in front of him. Peter sat up, pushing the bowl Pepper was holding out away and reaching excitedly for Tony.  
"Everything's signed! He's ours!" He showed Pepper who chuckled at his excitement.  
Peter didn't fully understand what the man had said, but he clapped excitedly because everyone else looked happy.

This is what life is supposed to feel like, Tony thought smiling as he watched Peter and Pepper celebrate. The excitement was short lived, however, as Peter vomited all over the bed sheets, thankfully not on Pepper.

"Water, Bruce." Pepper requested. The man turned and ran from the room, while Tony lifted the boy from the mess.  
"Guess it's time for another bath.." He muttered as Pepper began pulling sheets from the bed.  
This was going to be a long first night for the newly legal family. But oddly enough, neither adult could think of any better way to spend it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of the two sick chapters that got requested for me to write the other day. Thanks for requesting this btw it was super fun and cute to write.  
> I want to keep adding Sam and Rhodey but I always forget. Sadly.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has to be watched at night. The Avengers take shifts.

8:00pm 

Peter's usual bedtime was 8pm. Once Pepper had thrown some new sheets onto the bed and Tony had thoroughly washed the small sick boy, he was placed into the bed and immediately fell asleep. Pepper was on first watch duty for the hour. She knew after 10 minutes that this wasn't going to be easy. Peter had shoved his blanket off because he was too hot but was now shivering. She reached and pulled the blanket back up but only a few minutes later, the 5 year old was sweating up a storm and pushing it off. She sighed softly. Parenting really wasn't as easy as it looks.

9:00pm

Tony had wanted to take two slots of watching but Pepper refused. She insisted he needed sleep and the other Avengers had been eager to help. He walked around the room, fingers brushing over toys and straining his eyes through the slight darkness to read picture book titles. Giving Peter everything he wanted was a privilege for him but it also reminded him of his own father. Howard Stark was the coolest dad for everyone else, but for Tony the parenting was lacklustre. He simply bought Tony toys and sent him away, ignoring him for most of the day. He didn't want to be that kind of parent for Peter. He sat on the bed, turning to look at the boy. His covers were off and his face was pressed slightly into the pillow. He smiled softly as he curled in on himself. All of this was definitely worth it... He thought turning to look at the model train they'd been working on. Every single bit.

10:00pm

At 10:10pm, Peter woke up and whined that he was thirsty. Bruce smiled softly. "I'll be right back." He patted the boys head and turned towards the bathroom. The small cups were quick to be filled and he brought it back to the sick child. Peter looked around the room as he drank quietly. "Bwuce. Can you lay too?" The boy asked placing the cup on his bedside table. Bruce hesitated. He didn't want to get sick but how could he resist that pout? "Fine. But I have to go soon..." He slipped in beside the shaking boy. "Night Bwuce."

11:00pm 

Natasha poked her head into the room for her shift and saw Bruce cuddling the boy. "He's really clingy." Bruce chuckled and Natasha smiled. "How do you feel about all of this? Peter. Tony raising Peter. Tony allowed to be within 100 feet of a child." She snorted, crossing her arms. Bruce smiled softly. "He's been doing fine so far. And Peter loves him. With Pepper to keep him in check I think it'll be fine." Natasha smiled. She sat in the plastic chair next to the bed and watched Bruce and Peter quietly. The two talked but mostly sat in silence watching Peter sleep.

12:00am 

Clint didn't mind taking care of Peter for an hour. His own kids and wife were on holiday with his in-laws so he had time to kill around the compound. Plus an added bonus that he knew how to take care of sick children. He had propped Peter's head up and rubbed some medicine into his chest for the sniffles. He woke Peter up halfway through to hopefully get some food into him and then he read a book when Peter found it too hard to return to sleep.

1:00am 

Vision stood in the corner, head tilted, eyes watching the young Stark. He hadn't come into contact with many children in the short amount of time he'd had here. They were loud most of the time. Sometimes Peter smelled weird and he cried for no reason. Now that he was sick, he breathed loudly. But he was also "cute" and he liked to listen to Vision's facts. He was nice most of the time and Vision liked him. The boy slept peacefully during his hour.

2:00am

Thor and Peter were jumping on the bed. It had been Thor's idea. They'd decided that maybe, if they bounced enough, Peter's sickness would go away. There was no science behind this but the two were enjoying it anyway. "ITS 2AM!" Pepper's voice rang through the halls and Peter giggled. They must've been laughing louder than they thought. Oops.

3:00am 

Wanda sent Peter back to bed once she came in and saw what Thor had done. The boy had insisted on being read to again. They read the Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar five times before Peter finally fell asleep. She smiled softly glancing around the room. The toys and bed sheets gave her a familiar pang. She still missed her brother and the child reminded her a lot of him, if only because he seemed to be into a lot of similar things as her brother had been when he was little. She looked down at Peter. "Sleep tight, little guy."

4:00am 

Pepper smiled softly as she returned to the room. They had reached a full rotation. She reached down to kiss the boys forehead and check his temperature. "... The fevers almost broke...." "Really?" Tony came up beside her, wrapping his arms around her. She chuckled and nodded. "Whatever the rest did it seemed to work... Come on, he's fine. We'll check on him in a few hours..."

The couple turned back to look once more before they left the room. "He'll always be fine here." Tony noted as they climbed back into the bed and Pepper smiled softly. Tony sounded so sure and she liked that. He was so determined to take care of Peter properly and she was so proud. "Good night, Tony."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going on a trip to Florida this week. It's actually 3:30am as I type this note, we leave for the plane in half an hour.  
> I wanted to get this up before I left. I don't think the trip will affect posting hopefully. There will be plenty of down time for me to write. Hoping to write on the plane actually.  
> Hope you're all well and enjoying this story!!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter visits Wakanda for the first time.

The first vacation they took as a family and, of course, it was work related. Steve needed a repair on his shield from Vibranium but he was too busy to go grab it himself. So the duty fell upon Tony.  
And that's what led to their current situation.

Pepper sighed. When Tony had said “let's go on vacation” she’d been hoping California, Las Vegas… Maybe even Walt Disney World for Peter. Not Wakanda. As they flew in, Pepper couldn't keep the skeptical look off her face. Sure it was nice, but it was simply not suitable for Peter.  
She pulled the excited 5 year old closer, his bouncing around the private jet making her nervous.

“We're almost there…” Tony told her, obviously noticing her discomfort and trying to be comforting.  
She rolled her eyes. “That's not why I'm upset and you know it, Tony. I thought Wakanda was a struggling country."

The billionaire chuckled as he looked out the window.  
"That's what they'd have us believe. But my dad and Steve knew otherwise. Only a select few know, so you should feel honoured. Nobody can get us behind the barrier." Tony promised as they passed through said barrier.

Pepper was still skeptical but deep down she knew Tony was right. He wouldn't put her and Peter in unnecessary danger. He cared about them too much.

The plane landed quite easily and Peter excitedly raced ahead of his parents to climb down the steps. His blue eyes lit up as he looked around. This place was really high tech and probably the coolest thing ever to a young boy.

"You are not Steve." A man noted, chuckling dryly. Peter tilted his head to the side curiously.  
"I'm not Uncle Steve." He giggled. "I'm Peter." He stuck his thumb to his chest proudly.

T'Challa kneeled down as the boy hopped down the steps towards him. He definitely had not been expecting a child to come out of the plane. As he was about to ask if he'd come alone, footsteps approached behind Peter. He looked up.

"Stark." He stood, taking Peter's hand into his own. "I was expecting Steve. It's his shield after all." He glanced at the red head at Tony's side questioningly.

"He's pretty busy. Asked me to come grab it instead. Nice family outing." He gestured to Pepper and Peter in turn and T'Challa shook his head. He'd love to hear the story behind this, but first he had a shield to help fix.

 

Shuri had never met a more adorable boy. Not only was he insanely cute, he was smart and picked up almost everything she showed him how to do on the high tech screens around them. Pepper sat in the corner watching in astonishment as Peter helped with shield repairment. She'd been worried at first, but Shuri was really good at guiding the boy.

His little fingers danced across buttons and eagerly listened to instructions about where to make improvements. Her son really was something, she thought.

"Mum! Mum! Look at Uncle Steve's shield!" The young boy excitedly pointed at the shiny shield below them. Shuri chuckled and ruffled the young boys hair.

"I wish I had a partner like you in the lab all the time. It'd be a real help." She smiled fondly.   
Pepper chuckled. She knew the feeling. Breakfast got done in half the time when Peter helped. He was a lot smarter than anyone gave him credit for.

When Tony returned, the young boy explained in great detail all the cool buttons he'd pressed in order to fix his uncles shield.   
Now that the shield was fixed, however, it meant it was time to go home to bring it back to Steve, who needed it.  
"Can we come back and visit Aunt Shuri and Uncle Challa soon, daddy?" Peter asked, face pressed against the plane window.

"Oh, I'm sure you will. And they'll come and visit us sometime too, how would you like that, sport?" Tony asked.  
Peter nodded, smiling. He liked Wakanda, he decided as he pulled out the small piece of Vibranium Shuri had fashioned into a necklace for him. He'd return whenever his uncle needed his shield fixing. And even when he didn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Home from the trip. I worked on this the whole week tbh and I'm still unhappy with how basic it is. Hopefully I'll do better on the next one.  
> Enjoy anyway and leave me more feedback please!!!!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trip to Disney. This could only end in disaster.

“Maybe we should see if elders get a discount.” Bruce smirked at Tony as the group approached the ticket booth. Tony narrowed his eyes.

“Rude. Maybe I won't pay your admission after all. Money doesn't grow on trees, you know.” Tony shot back dryly. Bruce feigned hurt.

“You should be happy I'm even here. This place is for children.” He told Tony, glancing at the sleeping Peter in the stroller. Tony snorted.

No matter how much he denied it, Bruce liked spending time with Peter. So when Tony had mentioned a trip to Disney World, the doctor was in almost immediately. Unfortunately, Tony hadn’t realized before how hard it was to drag Peter's favourite people across the country.   
The only one who'd stayed behind was Natasha because she “refused to babysit a bunch of man babies in a place with actual sweaty children and crying babies.”  
Tony was just thankful it was one less person for him to watch out for. 

“Come on, Bruce. This place isn't for you, it's for Peter. And I know you'd cross the globe for Peter.” Tony turned to hand the money for their tickets so Bruce wouldn't see his smirk.  
The group was silent while Tony paid and handed the tickets out. “One for me… Pepper, here's Peter's… Steve… Where'd Steve go?” He turned around in a circle to search for his friend.

Clint shrugged, taking his ticket and reading the words.  
“We already lost Steve?” Tony asked blankly. The group looked around, spinning in circles a few times before agreeing.

“Yeah. We lost Steve.” Thor confirmed loudly. Passerbyers stared. Tony sighed.

“Okay, that's fine. He can't have gotten far. Like literally they wouldn't let him in, I have his ticket. We’ll just… He’ll turn up.” Tony was trying not to panic. It'd only been five minutes since they arrived at the park and already he'd lost a member of the group. He glanced at the sleeping Peter, as if to make sure he hadn't sleepwalked away.  
Someone suddenly tapped his shoulder and Tony jumped a foot into the air.   
“I need a ticket to get in, don't I?” Steve held his hand out for the slip of paper and Tony grumbled.  
“Where have you been? Never mind, I don't care. Stay close. Hold onto Peter's stroller. I have too many people to watch and I don't want to lose anyone.” He pointed to the stroller.

Once the Steve debacle was fixed, the group was ready to head into the park.   
“Peter will wake up soon, let's do the bigger rides while he sleeps.” Bruce pointed to the map excitedly. Tony grinned.  
“Not a child, huh?”  
Bruce flipped him off and Tony could feel the burning glares from parents around him. He chuckled softly as they began to line up for rides.

 

Halfway through the day, Peter had woken up. He hadn't known he was going to Disney, so after the initial shock, he'd insisted on standing in every single character line they passed.  
Seriously, Tony was starting to think the kid has a thing for lines.  
“Is Goofy a dog?” Peter asked Steve as they stood in line to meet Goofy himself. Steve tilted his head.  
“I guess so?” He wasn't too sure himself. Peter seemed to be thinking hard.   
“If he's a dog, why does he walk on two feet and Pluto walks on four.” He asked.  
Steve opened his mouth to respond but he realized he didn't know the answer, so he looked desperately at his friends for help.  
Everyone else shook their heads. Vision looked like he was short circuiting.  
This started an hour long heated argument between Bruce and Tony about anthropomorphic animals. Peter smiled and clapped along, as if this had been his plan all along.  
Steve wouldn't doubt it.

 

By the end of the day, all the adults were exhausted. Except Thor and Vision, who were energetically tossing Peter lightly between themselves while the group waited for the light show.  
“They're going to drop him.” Pepper said lazily, but she didn't make any move to stop them. Clearly, she put a little too much faith into the God and the robot. Tony waved a hand.  
“I've got him.” Wanda yawned, sticking her hand out when Peter slipped, lifting him with magic. Peter cheered.  
“Can you not do that here?” Steve crossed his arms, checking his phone. “Can't we just go back to the hotel. I'm exhausted. I feel like I've met every Disney princess in this park.”  
Just as he finished his sentence, the show began and the group chose to ignore Steves comment. When they were finally leaving the park, Tony lifted a sleepy Peter.  
“Did you have a good trip? That was only one park. We still have 3 more to explore!” He told him to which Peter threw his arms up in sleepy excitement.

“3 more?” Steve asked horrified. The rest laughed.  
“We all ready?”  
“Wait, Vision and Wanda are slacking.” Bruce jerked his thumb in the direction they'd come from, only to find them clinging to each other.

“Whoa, robot love. Not okay for your pure eyes, Peter. Come on.” Clint grabbed Peter from Tony and the group laughed as Wanda blushed behind them.   
“Get a room..” Bruce agreed.

Now this, this was a first family vacation, Tony thought, smiling as he looked around. How could it get any better than this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off Disney World in Florida.  
> Obviously they don't use tickets but it was more convenient for me. Enjoy this little humouros chapter based off of my little trip last week.  
> Make sure you leave feedback and thanks for reading!!!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets a special visitor and Peter likes his style.

Peter hid outside the door to Tony’s workshop, trying to hear the conversation inside. Earlier on in the day, a man he'd never seen before had been invited over and Peter’s curiosity was through the roof. Who was he? Did he like to play too?

Upstairs he could vaguely hear his mother calling out for him. Lunch was ready. Sighing, he looked longingly at the door before hopping up the stairs. He sat quietly in the kitchen and began his grilled cheese sandwich.

Strang, he thought. Months ago, he'd been in that horrible home with those horrible older kids and that lady. He would've never been given a grilled cheese there. But now here with Tony and Pepper, all he had to do was ask and it was delivered straight to him. He has toys, great food, aunts, uncles, parents, TV time, a bedroom… He'd been on a plane twice. He smiled softly to himself.

He loved it here.

“.... You can't really expect me to change my mind. I have a child to think about.” Tony and the man's arguing was coming close. Peter realized they must've finished in the workshop. His head perked up and he slid from the chair, peeking his head out of the kitchen curiously. 

The man heaved a sigh. “I didn't say I did. I just wanted to make sure, Stark.” He chuckled. Peter gripped the wall tightly.

“Whatever, Strange. You have your weird necklace fixed. Are you happy?” 

Peter's eyes darted to the man's neck instinctively, seeing the necklace with the green stone in the centre. Mesmerized, he didn't even realize he was approaching until he collided with Tony's leg.  
The billionaire let out a yell until he realized it was his son who'd rammed into his leg unceremoniously. Peter giggled as he fell on his bottom, eyes staring up at Tony's white face.

The man with the necklace kneeled and Peter tilted his head. “He’s bigger than I figured. How long is he going to be staying here? You know he's not safe here, Stark.”  
Peter didn't understand what that meant but he liked this man. Tony wasn't surprised when the small boy reached up and gripped onto the fabric of the man's cape. Stephen wasn’t surprised either, gently unfastening it and standing, to meet Tony's eyes. Peter giggled as he played in the cape.

“He's staying here until he's of legal age. Like any kid.” Tony rolled his eyes. Stephen chuckled, scooping the kid up in the cape.

“Well, enjoy the teen angst.” He handed the boy to Tony unwrapping the cape from around him. Tony glared. Peter giggled as Stephen pulled the cape back on.

“We’ll be in touch.” Stephen promised. He opened one of his portals, waving and jumping through. Peter clapped as it disappeared.

“Who was that, daddy?” He asked, still not understanding.

“Uncle Strange. He's a time wizard. But that doesn't matter, because I have a iron suit and way better hair. Remember that Peter.” He grumbled carrying Peter back to the kitchen. Peter giggled and nodded. Some things never change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know it's been a while since my last update but I decided to take a break for exams and I didn't want to post one of those annoying chapters you think are updates but just authors notes about taking a break. However, I'm back now and ready for more Little Peter goodness. Heck yeah, summer vacation!  
> I also saw Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom last night and heck yeah Chris Pratt.  
> Okay well anyway, enjoy this chapter and have a good evening, morning or afternoon.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Father's Day in the Potts-Parker-Stark household

Peter woke up in the morning between Tony and Pepper. Most nights he ended up in their bed so this was nothing new and he sat up, his hair sticking up at all different kinds of odd angles. He wiggled out from beneath his parents and wandered down the hallway.  
He was super excited.

Today was Father’s Day, usually one of Peter’s least favourite days. But things had changed now. He had been planning a Father’s Day surprises all week and now was time to start the first one. He was going to make breakfast all by himself… or mostly by himself.

“You need to flip the pancakes.” Vision instructed, sitting atop the counter and overseeing the cooking. Peter nodded determinedly, flipping the pancakes with a look of complete focus. Vision nodded in approval.

If it had been any other Avenger, they would not allow the young child to be near the stove in anyway. But Vision wasn’t as apt at understanding the rules of taking care of a human child. Thankfully, Peter knew how to take care of himself and managed to not cause a scene. He handed the food to Vision, adding a card he’d drawn and sent Vision on his way to wake Tony up.

Peter then hopped down the steps to the workshop. “All done bweakfast, Bwuce. How’s the suit?”

He and Bruce had been working on adjustments on the Iron Man suit for the whole week. Friday and Pepper had been assisting them in keeping Tony as far away as possible from the suit for the week.  
Bruce chuckled, for such a small kid, he was very bossy and good at planning. 

“All done Peter. Have you checked on Thor and Clint yet?” He asked looking up from where he was doing the finishing touches on the suit. It was mainly just repairs and a few modifications to make things comfier, but it had all been Peter’s idea.  
Peter shook his head, waving and heading back up the stairs to the main room where Thor and Peter’s banner hung for father’s day. Clint and Thor held up the cake excitedly and Peter nodded in approval. Everything was perfect.  
Natasha, Wanda and Steve sat on the side chuckling as they watched this take place.

“Dad will be here soon!” He hopped up and down excitedly.

Everyone nodded as Bruce joined them, washing his hands.  
Pepper, Tony and Vision came down a few minutes later and Peter bounded across the room to leap into Tony’s arms.

“Happy Father’s Day!” He cheered excitedly, looking up at him and Tony chuckled, looking around.

“Who’s idea was this?” He asked looking around and everyone points to Peter who smiled sheepishly.

“Thanks, little buddy.”  
“You should see the suit!” Peter exclaimed excitedly.  
Tony laughed. “I think we should eat this cake first…”

Bruce laughed softly as he watched them hand out the cake to all the Avengers and shook his head. This kid was going places, if this elaborate father’s day plan was anything to go by. He felt his stomach swell with pride. He could only imagine the pride swelling in Tony’s stomach right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.... I just realized I haven't written anything all summer and I know I'm very guilty but I have good reason!  
> So I was travelling a lot first of all which sucked, I went to Interactive Introverts at the beginning of the summer and it was so much fun. I went to Taylor Swift's Reputation Tour which was also so fun.  
> I went to the butterfly conservatory and the museum. I also went to see Antman and the Wasp which was good but I didn't like it as much as the first one oof.  
> And then also I started becoming too into musicals (Hamilton and Newsies are LIFE) and then this just fell to the back burner.  
> But I'm back!  
> School starts in 2 days but I have an easy semester and I'm looking forward to trying to post more.  
> Enjoy this chapter!


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween in the Stark-Parker-Potts household.

Halloween.  
Peter had never been allowed to go trick or treating at his old home. The older kids were because they could go by themselves. But dragging a small child everywhere was annoying so he was left behind. He didn't even get to dress up.

So when Tony announced Halloween was coming up, he felt that familiar feeling of dread swirl in his stomach. Not Halloween.

“What do you want to be this year?” Pepper asked him, sipping her coffee. Peter felt both pairs of eyes settle on him and he squirmed. What did he want to be? He'd never made this decision before.

“If you could be anything in the world, what would you be?” Tony asked, kneeling beside his son. Peter tilted his head. Anything?

“Spiderman. Iron Man’s sidekick.” He grinned excitedly, remembering his pajamas. Pepper chuckled and Tony smiled, ruffling his hair.   
“Then Spiderman it is.”  
~  
The dread of Halloween had now totally faded. It was October 30th and Peter was excited to head to bed. Tony had gone all out this year. He had helped Peter carve out 3 pumpkins, decorated the whole compound in decorations and they'd watched a Halloween movie every night. The next day, he planned on driving Peter up to one of the richer neighbourhoods and helping him trick or treat.  
With a little help from a friend, of course.

Scott Lang and his daughter Cassie were coming to keep Tony out of trouble because Pepper couldn't be there and also to try and get Peter to bond with someone his own age.   
Tony smiled down at the sleeping boy. The perfect Halloween for his perfect son.  
~  
Tony had made Peter a real Spiderman suit. And Peter loved it. He could stick to walls and shoot stuff and it lit up. ‘I'm going to have the coolest costume out there.’ He happily thought as he watched his Daddy walk around, talking to Mr. Lang on the phone.  
“They'll be here any minute.” He promised as he hung up.

Cassie dressed up as a pumpkin and Peter immediately took a liking to her. She taught him what to say to the people in the houses as they drove and she promised she wouldn't walk too fast so he could keep up.  
Most of the night went without incident and Tony was almost ready to call it a night because they had two big bags of candy and he was cold, when he noticed a group of teenage boys approaching.

Scott was immediately on high alert, watching his daughter and Tony followed suit. One of the boys, one that Tony shockingly recognized from the foster home he'd taken Peter from, began to heckle Peter.

“Hey, look! It's Peter and his free bag of candy.” He pointed to the bag that Peter held. Cassie saw her friend tense up. She looked back to her father with a worried expression as the boys began to grab at his bag. Peter let out a startled yell and fell watching his bag be picked up by the boy.

The toddler was furious. This was his night, his daddy had said so, and they wanted to take it from him just like before. ‘We still have two bags in daddy's hands’ he thought. But it wasn't enough. He raised his wrist and shot the sticky substance in his blasters at the boys. Caught off guard, they dropped the bag and Peter swiped it before someone else did. He retreated to his stunned father's side.

“Like father, like son. He clearly doesn't take crap from anybody.” Scott snorted as they walked back to the vehicle.  
“Especially when it comes to food.” He added and Tony had to agree.

As much as he hated unnecessary violence and he knew he was going to get in trouble for arming his son, he couldn't help but think they deserved it.  
And now they had three bags of candy for Peter to share with Thor (who was definitely not going to pass up a chance to get sugar high with his nephew.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys don't mind that I prefer writing it as snapshots in their lives as right now it's hard to make it consistent and flow because I want him to do so many things as a child.  
> But I promise there will be coherent plot when he gets older haha.  
> Also school has really been taking a toll on me so updates will be either once or twice a month. If I can do more I will.  
> Enjoy!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has to get a flu shot!

Tony had always believed in the miracles of modern science and medicine. Every year he got himself a flu shot and any other vaccines he needed and he usually urged everyone around him to do the same (except for Thor who accidentally summoned Mjolnir once while nervous for the needle and almost killed half the staff. He's a god, Tony always told himself, no way he can get sick anyway).   
Since it was becoming that time of year again, he knew he was going to have to go get himself vaccinated. As well as his new little charge.

Peter had already had a nasty bout of the flu and he wasn't looking to repeat the experience anytime soon. However, explaining to an already sensitive child that a strange man or woman would be sticking a foreign object into his skin was very difficult.

He enlisted the help of Pepper, of course. She was a lot more patient and gentle than he was, which he was grateful for. He tended to panic sometimes when he saw Peter in pain.  
And by sometimes, he meant all the time.

Peter was sat on the floor, playing with some action figures and Tony took a deep breath. If he could just get this over with, they could get the shot done quickly and then go do something fun after.  
He hoped Peter didn't cry.  
He hated seeing Peter cry.   
Glancing over to Pepper for moral support, she gave him a thumbs up.

“Um, Peter. Spiderling.” He got the boys attention. Peter tilted his head in question to his daddy, clearly interested in what he had to say.  
Tony took this as an invitation to go on.

“So. Sometimes, daddy has to go to the doctor and get a needle in his arm. The needle is very important and it keeps me from getting sick. Mommy needs one too, so you know what that means?”   
Peter shook his head.  
“Peter needs one too.”

Peter considered this. He didn't know what a needle was but he didn't like the idea of something being put in his arm. What if it got stuck there? He would have to live with a needle in his arm!

“No.” He responded and turned back to his toys. Tony was taken aback. No?

“Peter please. It's very important so you don't get sick again. Remember how much that sucked last time?” He asked.  
Peter hesitated. He hated being sick, but he also hated when people shoved things in his body.  
As he became more and more frustrated over these thoughts, he began to cry and Tony blinked.

Pepper hurried over to comfort the crying boy and Tony held up his hands in defense.  
“I didn't do anything!” He promised and Pepper rolled her eyes.

“Don't… Want… Sick. Don't… Want.. Needle.” Peter sobbed into Peppers chest and she sighed before brightening up slightly.  
“How about you watch daddy get his needle and then you'll know what to expect?” She suggested. Peter wiped at his eyes.

His fear of sickness overwhelmed his desire to not have a foreign object in him and he quietly nodded. Tony let out a breath of relief, glad he had Pepper to help him defuse situations like this. A light bulb suddenly went off in his brain.  
“And if it makes you feel any better, we’ll get Uncle Bruce and Uncle Steve to help us get our needles, sound good?” He asked and Peter perked up. He would never say no to his uncles being around.

 

An hour later, Tony sat on a bench in the workroom. Pepper and Steve sat in chairs beside him, Peter in Peppers lap and Bruce was bustling around setting up the needles.  
“Are you sure you want me to do this, Tony?”  
“You are a doctor right?” Tony raised his eyebrows.  
“Doctor is an objective term. It doesn't mean I'm licensed to give you a flu shot.”  
“And yet you had all the stuff at your disposal.”  
“Fine, but don't whine like a-”  
He glanced at Peter.  
“Like a female dog when I shove it in too hard.” He said smugly and Tony rolled his eyes.

Peter was focused on watching the process of Bruce rubbing his daddy's arm and preparing the needle. He watched as Bruce then walked over and quickly stuck it in, then pulled it out and replaced it with a cotton ball and a Thor bandaid.  
“See? All done.” Tony grinned at his son. Peter looked to Steve for the safety verdict. He knew his daddy wasn't that trustworthy when it came to safety.

“Go ahead, bud. I got lollipops upstairs for you afterward.” Steve grinned and Peter happily hopped down from Pepper’s lap. He climbed onto the bench and thrust his arm out for Bruce, who cleaned the area quickly and grabbed the other needle he prepared.   
“I want a Iron Man bandaid.” He instructed and Bruce lifted the package. Of course, Iron Man was his favourite and the package was out. He looked to Pepper and Tony for help.

“How about Captain America instead?” Pepper asked innocently. “You always see daddy anyway, you barely see Uncle Steve. This way you can carry him around with you.” She offered.  
Peter seemed content with this answer and Bruce sighed with relief, pulling out a Captain America bandaid and getting to work.  
Peter tensed up and teared up a bit, but otherwise he soon had a lollipop in his hands and a Captain America bandaid on his arm.

“You know, I think Captain America suits him.” Bruce snickered as he and Tony cleaned the work bench. The others were upstairs.  
Tony glared. “Clearly Iron Man suits him better and that's why we ran out.”  
“Don't refer to yourself in the third person, it's weird.”  
“Oh really? HULK SMASH!” Tony taunted, tossing the package of cotton balls to his friend. Bruce stuck his tongue out.  
Tony laughed. He was glad he had such a big support system to help with Peter. Otherwise he would've never been able to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading an extra chapter this month. I've been feeling rather good lately and I just wanted to share that through my writing.  
> Thanks for all of your support, it means a whole lot to me. This story both here and on Wattpad (Under the name You Can Let Go Now Daddy) have reached such a success and I'm so proud that my silly, adorable idea can bring joy to so many people! I hope you're all doing amazing!  
> Enjoy!


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another visit to the hospital.

Peter awoke in the middle of the night, eyes wide as a wet spot formed beneath him. It'd been a while since he'd had a nightmare and even longer since he'd wet the bed.  
He peeled himself out of the wet sheets and stared at them. At his old home, if he'd wet the bed then he had to fix it himself. Wiping his eyes, he knew he had to get it over with if he wanted to go back to sleep.

“Friday?” He whispered, waiting for the familiar robotic voice to respond to him. It took a moment before she did.  
“Peter.”  
Peter relaxed, he felt less lonely even if he she was just a voice.   
“Lights?” He asked and she fulfilled his request almost immediately. Slowly, he began working the sheets off with his small hands.

 

“Sir?” Friday chimes into the workroom. Tony looked up, glancing at the time. 1am. Friday was probably letting him know Pepper was waiting for him back in bed.  
“Tell Pepper I'll be upstairs soon.” He yawned.  
“Pepper is still uptown with her family for the weekend sir. It's Peter.” The robotic voice responded and Tony dropped the tools he was using. What could his son want at 1am? It must be serious.  
“What about him?”  
“He wet the bed. He's cleaning it himself.” The robotic voice explained and Tony cursed. “Thanks Friday.”

 

Peter trotted down the hallway. It was dark and scary but he didn't dare turn the lights on and wake anyone up. He wanted to call to Friday but he knew that would wake people up just as fast.  
He was still in his wet pajamas, having decided his sheets were more important.  
He reached the laundry room and pushed his sheets in, proud of himself. He stared at all the fancy buttons and frowned. His old washing machine hadn't been this complicated.  
“Friday?” He asked softly. “What buttons do I press?”  
“I think you should wait for Mr. Stark.” Was the only response she gave and Peter huffed. Fine. He'd figure it out himself. He looked at all the detergents. Why did they all have to be so fancy? He didn't even recognize the brand names.  
Slowly he picked one up, figuring he had to start somewhere. He opened it and a bit spilled onto his hand. He tilted his head, sniffing at the detergent on his hand.  
He poured some into the machine and pressed the on button, hoping it would work. It started up and he sighed, looking down at his hand.

He'd been told not to by his previous garden but he had to. He was curious. It looked like juice. He brought it to his lips. He didn't like the taste that much and was about to turn and leave to get changed when Tony burst open the laundry room door. Peter was sat on the floor, detergent spilled all around him… On his hands… On his mouth?  
Tony gasped horrified and lifted Peter up.  
“Tell me you didn't just put detergent in your mouth, Pete.” He stared at his son wracking his brain for what Pepper would yell at him when she found out.

“I did.” Peter admitted sheepishly. Tony groaned.  
He carried the boy downstairs immediately and had Friday grab Happy. He grabbed a small backpack off its hanger and they left. All Peter was concerned about was that he was still covered in pee.  
Tony didn't seem to notice however.  
“What'd he do?” Happy asked sleepily, as they pulled onto the street to the hospital.  
“Drank detergent.” Tony sighed and Happy had to stop himself from snorting. Of course, Tony's child even if not blood related, would do some stupid shit.

The hospital put Peter into a hospital gown and they did tests. Tony was glad he brought the backpack. It was full of things to entertain Peter while out and about as well as a change of fresh clothing.  
Now that he wasn't covered in pee, Peter happily told the nurse what he had done and Tony could feel her judging him. It's not like he had asked Peter to do the laundry.  
Finally, Peter was cleared. He hasn't ingested a whole lot. All he had to do was stay overnight to make sure.

“Sorry daddy.” Peter mumbled sheepishly as Tony laid beside him after the younger boys insistence. He didn't want his daddy to sit in a chair the whole night because he was dumb and decided to clean his sheets.  
“It's alright, Peter… Just don't drink detergent. You should've listened to Friday and waited.”   
Peter felt his face turn red. Sometimes he didn't understand why Tony was so nice to him. It made him feel bad when he messed up. 

The next morning, Pepper picked them up from the hospital on their way home from her parents place. She fretted over Peter the whole way home.  
The first thing they did when they got home was put the detergent in a high cabinet along with the rest of their dangerous chemicals. Peter's life was too precious to mess with

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm uploading too much now lol.  
> I just feel really bad for leaving you guys hanging for so long and also I keep getting inspired by random little things. This one is inspired because I spilt detergent on myself today. But I did not eat it.  
> Haha.  
> Enjoy!


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Pepper have a conversation about how they're going to school Peter.

Tony knew the longer he delayed Peters schooling the harder it would be to integrate him back into the school system that he'd come from. The problem was, no school was the right school for his Peter.  
He visited almost every school in the city, Pepper at his side and found at least one thing to complain about each time.   
“Too many kids, he's not used to big crowds.”  
“This place smells like the shower after Bruce takes a crap.”  
“What is that a picture of? Albert Einstein? Peter is 5, not 17!”  
Pepper didn't see problems with any of these places. Schools were bound to have crowds of kids and the picture of Einstein was only a picture. It's not like Peter would be learning about him. As for the smell, Pepper just assumed he was grasping at straws.

“If Peter is ever going to live an even semi normal life, you need to stop coddling him.” She reminded her boyfriend and Tony looked as if he'd been slapped across the face.  
“I'm not coddling him, none of those schools were right. Just give me another month or two and I know I can find the perfect one for him.”  
“He's going to kindergarten, Tony. Not University. Lower your standards and maybe he'd be in class tomorrow.”  
Tony rolled his eyes. Of course he wouldn't expect Pepper to understand. Tony didn't really like school and he definitely didn't trust them to take care of Peter properly.  
What if Peter had a problem voicing his needs? Peter couldn't even come to him to ask him to clean the sheets of his bed after wetting it, he didn't want to have to show up to the school everyday with a fresh set of clothing because Peter was too scared to ask to use the toilet.  
What if some bigger children decided to pick on him and the teachers didn't believe him? Tony hated how justice always seemed to be served to the wrong person and Peter could end up being blamed for something he never even did.  
Too many possibilities of things that could happen and Tony just didn't want to risk it. Pepper, on the other hand, had the belief that Peter needed to learn about the real world in the real world with real experiences.

Pepper let out a long sigh. She knew it would be hard to get Tony to loosen his grip on Peter. As much as he may hate to admit it, he couldn't hold onto Peter forever.   
“I don't see the problem with homeschooling him. He's happy here, he's safe, we all know exactly what he needs and when he needs it…” Tony pressed.  
“How is he ever going to make friends his own age, Tony?”  
Tony leaned forward. He'd been waiting for Pepper to respond to his homeschooling idea with an answer besides no for a while now and he hoped she’d finally listen.  
“We don't have to homeschool him forever and there's plenty of clubs we can sign him up for. In fact, the library has a easy coding program with lots of kids in his age group and I was going to sign him up. He's smart enough for it.. Maybe a sports team?” He rambled. Signing Peter up for a club for an hour everyday was a small price to pay for convincing Pepper to let him stay home for most of the day.  
Knowing the battle was lost and ultimately tired of fighting with Tony over where to school Peter, Pepper relented.

“I KNEW YOU’D UNDERSTAND! I'M WORKING ON A WORK ROOM FOR HIM RIGHT NOW!” He raced from the room and Pepper sighed.  
After a moment he poked his head back in. “With no Albert Einstein photos.” He added and Pepper shook her head as he ran away.  
What monster had she just created?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter isn't actually in this one but it does answer many of your questions on how I'm going to school Peter.  
> Enjoy!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to coding class and meet Peter's new friend, Ned.

Tony was ready to drop Peter off to his first new club but Peter was putting up a resistance. Already he'd tried to say he was sick (Pepper checked his temperature and found him normal), hid behind the couch and under the bed and thrown his first real full fledged temper tantrum.   
They pulled up to the library and Peter quietly let Tony pick him up, obviously exhausted.  
"I don't want to learn coding." Peter whined. Tony sighed. He wished Pepper would've come with him.  
"You've been excited for weeks, Pete. At least try it, the class is so excited to meet you."

Peter didn't believe that. No one was ever excited to see him especially not children his own age. But he wanted to trust and believe Tony, Tony would never steer him wrong. Or at least hadn't yet.   
"Okay... Can you stay though, daddy? I don't want to be alone." He asked and Tony chuckled.  
"Alright. Just this once, then when we get home you can practice with Uncle Bruce while I work." He offered and Peter nodded, excitement returning as they walked into the library's program room. Peter looked around at all the children, he didn't know any of these kids. Maybe he did have a chance. Tony placed him down and almost immediately a boy was walking up to him.

This boy was slightly shorter than himself, with dark hair. He was a bit on the pudgy side, but Peter liked the smile he wore on his face. He smiled back shyly.  
The boy didn't even bat an eye, sticking his hand out to greet Peter.  
"My name is Ned!"  
Peter tilted his head with wonder. "I-I'm Peter." He stuttered slightly. "I-I'm.. Im 5." 

"Me too. Do you want me to catch you up?" He asked excitedly, pointing to their computers. Peter hesitated, looking up at Tony who nodded.  
"Um, okay.. Okay, Ned. I want to know how to code." He nodded, following Ned to the computers. Ned grinned excitedly taking his hand and leading him to the computers.  
Tony turned to the leader of the club. "I think he should be alright. If you need me, I'll stay in the library." He told her and she nodded.  
"We'll take good care of him."

Peter didn't even notice Tony left. After Ned caught him up and they helped each other complete the days task, they chatted about everything. Legos, superheroes, cartoons... Peter hadn't had anyone to talk to his age ever. Ned understood him in a way that his father could never because he didn't have the mind of a child.  
"You can be my best friend." Ned said happily to Peter. "You don't have a best friend already, do you?" He asked worriedly.  
Peter immediately shook his head. "No. No friends." He corrected him.   
"None? Not even from school?"  
"Daddy teaches me at home, no other kids." Peter explained and Ned tilted his head.  
"That's weird. Is it fun?" He asked, interested. Peter grinned and nodded.

"Ned it's time to head home!" Mrs. Leeds called from the doorway. Peter looked up to see his daddy and Ned's mom standing with the other parents. The two walked over to the adults.  
"Can't we stay longer?" Peter asked his dad and the adults chuckled.  
"You'll see Ned next week, dear. I'll be in contact with your daddy too, maybe we can schedule a playdate in between." Mrs. Leeds offered.  
The children said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, Tony smiled as he buckled the boy into the backseat.  
"Feeling better about coding?" He asked.  
"Ned is my best friend." Peter nodded, happily. "He likes me, daddy."

Tony didn't respond and Peter leaned back in his seat, looking out the window as the lights flashed by.   
He yawned quietly and traced his seat, excited to go home and see the rest of his family. He really wanted to tell them all about Ned.  
"I'm proud of you, bud. You're going to make lots of new friends."   
Tony hoped it was true. He didn't want Ned Leeds and Cassie Lang to be the only people to show up to Peter's birthday party.   
He wanted Peter to have everything he didn't get to have, most of his birthday parties had only been him and his birthday cake. Sometimes his mom too.   
No, that wouldn't be Peter. Peter was going to have lots of people who loved him. Peter was going to be loved, cared for. He wasn't all alone anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have been asking for Ned. So here he is, finally!  
> Enjoy!


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter might have a crush on a girl who goes to a club in the library.

“It's called a crush, it's when you think girls are cute.” Ned told Peter one day while waiting for their parents to pick them up from coding. Peter screwed his face up.  
“Why would I think a girl is cute? What does a cute girl mean?” Peter asked.  
“A cute girl means you think a girl looks nice. Like you think MJ is.” Ned smirked. 

Peter blushed and shook his head wildly. MJ was this girl who went to a club in the room next door to the coding room. Peter was pretty sure it was a reading club. Ever since she’d showed up, Peter was fascinated by her. She was all he ever talked about to Ned, who liked to tease him endlessly. Sometimes Ned thought that Peter was younger than him because of all the things he didn't know, but he liked to show him how to do things.  
“I don't think MJ looks nice.” Peter mumbled, awkward.   
“Then why do you always stare at her?” Ned asked curiously.  
“What're we talking about?” MJ plopped herself in between the two boys on the cushions on the floor. Sometimes, when they were lucky, MJ would sit with them during the time they waited for their parents.  
Peter liked those times usually, but today he was slightly embarrassed.

“N-nothing. Ned was explaining something to me.” Peter told him. MJ narrowed her eyes and Peter gulped.  
“Why can't you tell me? Is it because I'm a girl? I'm not stupid. Just because I can't code doesn't mean I'm stupid.” She complained and Ned rolled his eyes.  
“It's personal stuff that you can't know.”   
“Like a secret? Why can't I know the secret?” MJ begged, pulling on Peters arm. Peter blushed.

“Fine. I like building girl Lego sets. Are you happy?” Ned asked annoyed by MJ’s persistent nature. He may only be a small kid, but he understood that crushes were supposed to be secret. Everyone knew that.  
“Me too.” MJ beamed and Ned rolled his eyes.  
“You're a girl, duh.”

“Peter!” Tony had arrived to pick his son up and, unknowingly, save him from the awkward situation. MJ and Ned leapt up to say goodbye to their friend.   
Ned hugged him and ran past Tony to reach his own parents. MJ giggled and kissed Peter on the cheek as she hugged him.  
Peter blushed and said goodbye, hurrying to Tony's side and taking his hand.

“Feeling sick?” Tony asked, seeing the red look on his face.  
“No.” Peter squeaked, looking away and Tony laughed, shaking his heads.   
Innocence is a blessing, he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've also been begged to add MJ, so here she is.  
> Enjoy!


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is heading to the dentist, without Tony.

Today was Peters first trip to the dentist and Tony wasn't even able to be there. He had a meeting regarding his company. He'd tried to cancel it three times but ultimately it was too important.

So, Pepper and Bruce had offered to go with Peter, who still had no idea how he felt about heading to the dentist.

"Good luck, buddy. Listen to what mommy and Uncle Bruce say." Tony kissed his forehead. Peter nodded. He wanted to ask Tony to stay and protect him but he knew his job was important.

Once Tony was gone, Pepper and Bruce took Peters hands and led him to the car, heading to the dentist's office.  
Upon arriving, Peter felt slightly more comfortable because he saw all the toys in the waiting room and excitedly began to play.

When they were called in is when Peter got nervous again. Philip sat in the chair and they began to check out his teeth. His fingers gripped Bruce's hand tightly.  
He didn't like the feeling of instruments poking in his mouth. He looked around the room, wishing his daddy was there.

That's when the tears started and immediately the instruments were removed. Pepper picked her son up trying to soothe him as best as possible.  
"We can come back, with Tony next time." Pepper told the dentist and Bruce turned to schedule another appointment.

But before he could, Peter suddenly stopped crying. He blinked and pointed to a lollipop on the counter.  
"Do I have that after the people are done sticking stuff in me?" He asked quietly.

"Of course, buddy. You don't have to do it today. We can wait for daddy.."  
But Peter had already made up his mind on that lollipop.

An hour and a half later, Peter sat on Bruce's shoulders. A lollipop dangled from his mouth and he looked pretty happy.   
Tony and Happy picked them up from the office.

"How was he?" Tony asked worriedly.  
"He wouldn't do it until he saw there was a lollipop involved." Bruce laughed.  
"Of course. You never do things like that for free, Peter." Tony joked and Pepper laughed.

"Don't teach him that!" She tried to appear upset but she didn't mind. As long as Peter did it, she didn't care what he got out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this kind of sucks but I just had oral surgery today and it inspired me to write about our little Peter in a dentist. Even if it's kind of trash... Anyway Enjoy!!!


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Stark-Potts-Parker family celebrate Thanksgiving with their friends and family.

Thanksgiving had always been a hit or miss holiday for Tony. Before he started dating Pepper, he'd almost always spent the holiday alone being thankful for his company and the people who helped make it possible.

Now that he was dating Pepper and had the rest of the Avengers on his side, he found that celebrating the turkey holiday was definitely a lot easier.  
He was most excited, however, to pass this on to Peter.

He doubted Peter had had very many Thanksgiving's with all the food he could possibly eat and people who love and care for him.  
But Tony was determined to change that.

Pepper had spent most of the day cooking. They were having a lot of people over. Most of the people who were coming didn't have families of their own to celebrate with.  
Pepper and Tony didn't mind having them over, the more the merrier in their ragtag little family.

Peter was curious. He'd never seen so much food being cooked before and it all looked so delicious. For most of the day, he sat in the kitchen while Pepper cooked, watching her move around the kitchen to cook.

When Tony came some time later, he found the two most important people in his life at the moment in the kitchen. One of which had been nibbling on the side dishes.  
He laughed, lifting Peter as their guests slowly began arriving.

Wanda, Vision, Bruce, Thor, Natasha, Steve, Rhodey, Sam, Stephen, Scott and Cassie (who were attending two thanksgiving dinners in the same night)... Everyone was able to attend except for Clint, who wanted to spend Thanksgiving with his own family.   
The dinner table was quite packed and loud which Tony was nervous would scare Peter, but Peter loved it.

He shoved food in his mouth and happily talked all about his new friends to all his uncles and aunts.  
As the night drew to a close and the guests disipatated, leaving Pepper to balance all the dishes in the sink for wash tomorrow, Tony carried Peter to his bedroom.

"Daddy, why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?" He asked sleepily and Tony smiled softly. Even when he was tired, he couldn't stop asking questions.

"To be thankful for what we have, bud." He explained gently. Peter was quiet for a moment.

"I'm thankful for you and mommy." He whispered, as if it were some heavily guarded secret he couldn't bare to bring himself to say.  
Tony smiled.

"I'm thankful for you and mommy too." He kissed the top of Peter's head and the small boy let out a contented sigh.  
What a wonderful night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Well, American. I had Thanksgiving like a month ago because I'm Canadian.  
> But Happy Thanksgiving anyway!  
> I'm thankful for all of you who continue to support me through this story and who give me ideas allnd inspiration to continue what I do.  
> This story would be nothing without all of you.  
> Enjoy!


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets Santa.

Peter held onto Tony's hand tightly as they walked through the busy mall. Christmas was mere weeks away and the whole building was lit up with Christmas lights, playing jingly tunes and full of panicked adults scrambling to grab presents before it was too late.

Tony had gotten all of his presents early to avoid that stress and was currently on his way to pick a suit up from the dry cleaners. He hadn't had to bring Peter, but he figured it'd probably do the kid some good since he'd been inside all week besides his coding class.

"What's that?" He pointed to the platform in the middle of the mall. Tony barely even glanced over.

"Santa." He was too distracted to really notice the excitement that lit up Peters face. Okay, so maybe Peter didn't fully believe in Santa. After all, the man had never brought him his parents (his biggest wish) or anything smaller he asked for, so why should he believe if he didn't get anything out of it? But the idea that a man could deliver presents to everyone in one night... With magical flying reindeer?

Peter loved reindeer! They'd gone to the petting zoo last week and he'd seen one with his very eyes. He glanced up at Tony who was busy scrolling through his phone in the line for the dry cleaners. All he wanted was a peek. He'd see if there were any reindeer and if there wasn't, he'd see Santa for himself and hurry back before his dad even noticed him gone.

He released his hand and hurried across the mall, darting between legs and bags. There was no line up to see Santa, but the man was still sitting there jovial as ever. Peter looked around. He didn't see many kids in the mall anyway. He approached cautiously.

He looked around, catching Santa's eye. "Sir, where are your reindeer?" He squeaked, blushing slightly.  
He didn't like talking to strangers. The man's eyes twinkled and he let out a joyful laugh. Peter didn't see what was so funny.

"I can't bring the reindeer inside, they're animals and they'd cause a mess. What's your name?" He asked as Peter stepped closer.

"I'm Peter." He knew better than to give a strange man his last name. There were thousands of Peters, Peter Parker was too specific.

"Peter? What a nice name. Do you want to come up here and tell me what you want for Christmas, then?" He asked and Peter thought about it.  
He nodded and hurried to sit in his lap.  
"What do you want for Christmas, Peter?"

"Well.. What I want for Christmas.." He screwed up his face tight and thought. "What I want for Christmas is to stay with daddy and mommy forever. I don't want them to leave me behind.. And.. And I'd also like a reindeer. Oh, and a new colouring set because Uncle Thor sat on mine."

He looked up for confirmation from the man and he nodded, handing a candy cane to the small boy.  
"I'll see what I can do." He smiled and winked. Peter grinned and thanked him, hurrying off to find Tony.

Tony, by now, had realized Peter had run off and was calling out, desperately trying to find him.  
"I'm right here!" Peter squeaked appearing next to him and Tony jumped. He nearly had a heart attack.  
"Don't walk away from me at a busy shopping mall." He sighed, annoyed less now that he could see Peter was safe. Peter stuck half the candy cane in his mouth and nodded, taking his hand once more.  
Tony stared at the candy cane. Had he had that this whole time?  
He shook his head. 'This parenting thing keeps getting weirder and weirder.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late Christmas chapter :3 Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. The next two will be Christmas based and I'm writing a New Years one tomorrow.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guardians of the Galaxy finally pay a visit to the Avengers compound.

Tony wasn't going to invite the random space aliens that crashed into the field behind the Avengers compound in at first.

He didn't want to have to deal with another race of beings around Christmas time. But then one of them turned out to be a human and Pepper reminded him that Christmas was about being nice to people..

"My name is Peter Quill. This is Gamora, Drax, Mantiss, Groot and Rocket.." He shook Tony's hand. He sighed.

"We'll fix your ship up and send you on your way in a few days. Might as well stick around.. no stores are going to be open until after Christmas."

And so, a couple of spare rooms were put together for the Guardians of the Galaxy.   
No one was more pleased about this than Peter himself. The small boy snuck into one of the bedrooms, excited to meet some new friends.

"Hi! My name is Peter!" He exclaimed to the room.  
Gamora and Quill had been halfway through an argument when the child burst into their bedroom.  
They blinked down at him.

"Um, hi?" Quill couldn't find anything to say about this strange turn of events.

Gamora chuckled, kneeling to greet the small child. It didn't take long for Peter to have won the hearts of 4/5 of the Guardians.  
~  
"A kid?" Quill asked Tony, stepping into the room. Everyone else was asleep and the compound was silent. 

"Don't judge my life decisions. I know a family probably isn't the smartest thing for someone in my position.. But Peter deserved better then he had before." Tony didn't look up from where he was going over the blueprints of the spaceship.

"Oh. I'm not doubting you know the risks.. After talking to everyone around the compound though... I'm wondering if you took Peter in for Peter or for yourself."

Tony listened to Quill's footsteps disappear. He was right. Why had he taken in Peter? Because he'd seen himself. Why was he trying to coddle him? Because his own father had been so distant. Everyone else had seen it but because they loved him so much hadn't tried to tell him.

He was making it all about himself again. Frustrated, he leaned back and put his head in his hands. He had a lot of self reflection to do.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas at the Avengers compound.

Tony liked Christmas... The idea anyway. It was sort of a magical time after all and it was hard not to love (despite the fact that it could do with a little less Christmas music).

He didn't like it when it was put into place however, but things always sound better on paper then in real life.   
Even so, he was determined to give Peter a good Christmas, despite the fact that the new company had foiled his plans somewhat. After all, the Avengers compound would be full at Christmas already without the five new editions.

But like always, he managed. Barely. If this was going to be Peters first Christmas at the compound it was going to be perfect.  
Peter helped decorate the tree (naturally there were big gaps where ornaments that had been supposed to go up had accidentally been broken by the poor boy, who cried every single time).  
He helped Pepper make Christmas cookies. Helped hang the stockings and make snowmen and sing carols and the like.

But what Tony was really looking forward to (and Peter wasn't), was the gift opening.   
Peter didn't expect to get much. He liked helping everyone else get festive and make them happy. He even made some presents for everyone using his arts and crafts supplies. But he didn't get presents for Christmas.

He never had.

"Time for bed, kiddo." Pepper wrangled a hyper boy into his bed and tucked the blankets in. Peter pouted.   
Christmas Eve wasn't special for him, why did he have to go to sleep earlier?

She kissed his forehead, followed quickly by Tony.  
As much as he hated to admit it (because he was a big boy), the kisses and hugs made him feel good.  
Maybe this Christmas would be the one, he thought sleepily.  
~  
The next morning, when Peter walked down the stairs he was greeted by a large pile of presents.   
There was one from almost every superhero who had even laid eyes on him, one from Ned, one from MJ, One from Tony and Pepper and of course, a bunch from Santa.

All for him. Of course, he tried to deny it and rationalize that they weren't but when Tony and Quill offered to help him open them, he couldn't resist.  
So many toys and books and puzzles and candy..

Tony loved the look on his face as they handed him presents. The look of complete and utter wonder and fascination.  
"Merry Christmas, Peter." He ruffled his hair.  
Peter looked up and hugged his leg, eyes watering.

"Merry Christmas, daddy... I get to keep all of this... Right?" He asked cautiously and Tony smiled.  
"Of course, they said Peter on them after all." He reminded his son who nodded, looking like he was about to burst into tears.

So maybe the commercialization of Christmas was dumb and maybe the original story of Christmas was a lie, so what?  
Christmas was worth it if only just to see his sons face after he opened his presents.


End file.
